Stephen Dinan
Articles by Stephen Dinan
ICE says fake YouTube star Muhammed Zain Ul Abideen Rasheed victimized 245 children
ICE revealed Monday that it helped Australian authorities nab a 25-year-old man they say posed as a teenage YouTube star, luring American girls into befriending him then blackmailing the children into performing sex acts on video. Published January 25, 2021
Tim Kaine eyes 14th Amendment as impeachment alternative
Republicans are presenting a largely unified front as the Senate prepares to kick off a second impeachment trial of former President Donald Trump, with a growing number saying they don't believe the Constitution envisioned pursuing conviction of someone already out of office. Published January 24, 2021
Impeachment arguments to start week of Feb. 8
Senators will be sworn in as impeachment jurors next Tuesday, but the actual trial on former President Donald Trump won't begin until the week of Feb. 8, the chamber's top Democrat said Friday. Published January 22, 2021
Feds stop special Iraqi refugee program after troubling DHS security breach
The State Department announced an emergency 90-day halt on admitting refugees from Iraq who helped the U.S. war effort after authorities revealed Friday that the program had been breached in a brazen conspiracy to steal refugees' files. Published January 22, 2021
Texas sues to stop Biden’s deportation halt
Texas argued to a federal court Sunday that ICE is now actively releasing immigrants who are in the U.S. illegally into the state, bolstering its demand that a judge step in and order a delay to President Biden's new temporary deportation amnesty. Published January 22, 2021
Pelosi to deliver Trump impeachment to Senate on Monday
The House will deliver its article of impeachment for former President Donald Trump to senators on Monday, setting up a trial that could end with his banishment from ever holding federal office again. Published January 22, 2021
Senate power-sharing deal elusive; Joe Biden agenda on hold
Who's on first, what's on second, and nobody knows exactly how the Senate is being run right now. Published January 21, 2021
Senate Republicans call for Donald Trump impeachment trial delay, mid-February start date
Senate Republicans proposed an impeachment trial schedule Thursday that would put off the start until mid-February, giving all sides time to prepare for what's expected to be a debate over constitutional principles more than about former President Donald Trump's behavior. Published January 21, 2021
House cancels business during first full Biden week
The House won't meet next week, Speaker Nancy Pelosi said Thursday, canceling the first full week for the chamber under President Biden. Published January 21, 2021
Democrats still mum on impeachment trial timing
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said Thursday she still isn't ready to reveal when she will send the article of impeachment against former President Donald Trump over to the Senate -- the key move that would ignite the trial. Published January 21, 2021
DHS announces 100-day pause on deportations
Acting Homeland Security Secretary David Pekoske announced a 100-day pause on some deportations late Wednesday, moving to carry out one of President Biden's most prominent campaign promises. Published January 20, 2021
Joe Biden reverses Trump ‘remain-in-Mexico’ border policy
The Biden administration announced late Wednesday that it will halt the "Remain-in-Mexico" policy, axing a key tool that security experts said helped solve the 2019 migrant surge. Published January 20, 2021
Avril Haines, Biden director of national intelligence, confirmed by Senate
Senators confirmed the first of President Biden's Cabinet picks Wednesday evening, giving the nod to Avril Haines to become the next director of national intelligence. Published January 20, 2021
Senate flips to Democrats as new senators, VP Harris change balance of power
Three new senators were sworn in Wednesday afternoon, delivering control of the chamber to Democrats and cementing the party's grasp on all the reins of political power in Washington for the first time in a decade. Published January 20, 2021
EPA chief orders last-minute pardon to agency’s research rabbits
Outgoing EPA chief Andrew R. Wheeler issued a last-minute reprieve he hopes will set free rabbits that have been used for testing at agency labs. Published January 20, 2021
Joe Biden plan expands legal immigration, offers citizenship to illegal immigrants
President-elect Joseph R. Biden is proposing a significant increase in legal immigration as part of his new legislation that would also legalize most illegal immigrants. Published January 20, 2021
Joe Biden announces Day One erasure of Trump legacy
A few strokes of President Biden's pen on Wednesday put a stop to much of former President Trump's legacy. Mr. Biden, in a first-day series of executive orders, memos, directives and proclamations, halted border wall construction, nixed the travel ban, canceled the commission to celebrate the country's Founding Fathers and erased the presidential approval of the Keystone XL pipeline. Published January 20, 2021
Alejandro Mayorkas says Biden wants to grant citizenship to most illegals
Abolishing Immigration and Customs Enforcement is a nonstarter and the fate of the border wall is uncertain, but the Biden team does want to grant citizenship rights to most illegal immigrants and to pump money into Latin America as the way to discourage illegal immigration, Alejandro Mayorkas, the pick to lead the Department of Homeland Security, told senators Tuesday. Published January 19, 2021
Donald Trump grants deportation amnesty to Venezuelans
President Trump issued a directive Tuesday creating a temporary deportation amnesty for Venezuelans in the country illegally, saying it was a way to protect them from the chaos the South American country has been facing. Published January 19, 2021
Post office takes victory lap, says vote-by-mail election went smoothly
The U.S. Postal Service released an after-action report Tuesday detailing its successes in delivering mail ballots during the 2020 election and the Georgia Senate runoffs, saying the average time to get ballots to voters was about two days, and even faster in getting filled-out ballots back to election officials. Published January 19, 2021