125368072_web1_gavel

PA Supreme Court tosses ‘hearsay evidence’ at preliminary hearings

125367407_web1_crestwood-1

Crestwood to open with full in-person, though cyber is an option

WILKES-BARRE &mdash; Former U.S. Rep. Lou Barletta on Tuesday said there is no question that Pennsylvania put Donald Trump in the White House in 2016 and he believes the Keystone State will be just as important to his re-election.
				&ldquo;We see the same thing happening now as we did in 2016, claiming the President was losing in the polls,&rdquo; Barletta said. &ldquo;I believe in November President Trump will win by a bigger margin than in 2016 and once again prove every expert wrong.&rdquo;
				Over the weekend, the delegates and alternate delegates to the Republican National Convention held a virtual meeting where they unanimously voted former Barletta to be chairman of the Pennsylvania Republican Delegates to the GOP Convention next month, Aug. 25-26-27 in Jacksonville, Fla.
				In his role as chairman of the delegates, Barletta will also be attending the meetings prior to Jacksonville in Charlotte, N.C., on Aug. 24 for opening motions.
				Barletta will be one of the six delegates each state is sending to Charlotte to legally nominate President Trump and Vice President Mike Pence for re-election. For any issue to be formally voted on by the convention, the vote is announced by the chairman of each state&rsquo;s delegation.
				Barletta said he is honored that his fellow delegates elected him to chair the Pennsylvania delegation heading to Florida.
				&ldquo;To formally nominate (Trump) for re-election is a real privilege,&rdquo; Barletta said.
				Barletta, a Hazleton Republican who served four terms in the U.S. House of Representatives, lost his bid for the U.S. Senate in 2018 to U.S. Sen. Bob Casey, D-Scranton.
				&ldquo;This November will be one of the most important elections of our lifetime and will decide what future we leave for our children and grandchildren.,&rdquo; Barletta said. &ldquo;This past year I have been working to help President Trump win re-election. I have been speaking to labor groups and folks across the state that understand a second term for our president means more jobs and growth in our state. A Biden administration is the exact opposite &mdash; it would take countless jobs from Pennsylvania.&rdquo;
				Barletta said this will be his fourth GOP national convention, but the first time serving as chairman of Pennsylvania delegation.
				&ldquo;The Republican Party is very unified,&rdquo; Barletta said. &ldquo;At our virtual meeting Saturday, the unity was evident on nominating and electing President Trump for a second term.&rdquo;
				Barletta served as mayor of Hazleton from 1999 to 2010. He received national attention over his anti-illegal immigration ordinance that resulted in a legal battle that ended when the ordinance was ruled to be unconstitutional.
				Barletta defeated 13-term Democratic incumbent Paul Kanjorski in 2010 to win the seat in the 11th Congressional District &mdash; the seat he then held until 2019.
				Barletta was an early supporter of Trump for president in 2016, co-chairing Trump&rsquo;s Pennsylvania campaign. Trump won Luzerne County by a large margin to give him Pennsylvania and many political observers credit that as the key to Trump&rsquo;s victory over Democrat Hillary Clinton.
				Trump won Luzerne County in 2016, but lost in Lackawanna County.
				In 2016, the heavily Democratic Luzerne County supported Trump, a Republican, giving him a 26,000-vote plurality over Clinton &mdash; just about guaranteeing a Trump victory in Pennsylvania.
				Luzerne County was pro-Trump almost from the beginning of the race for the White House, as evidenced by the 11,000-plus that filled the Mohegan Sun Arena on both of his appearances here in 2016 &mdash; in April and again in November. He came back in August 2018 to stump for Barletta and again, more than 11,000 filled the arena.
				Trump received 78,303 votes in the county in 2016, to Clinton&rsquo;s 52,092. That vote difference of 26,211 made up more than 40% of Trump&rsquo;s unofficial statewide lead of 64,347 over Clinton.

Barletta named chairman of Pennsylvania GOP delegation to convention