Stephen Dinan
Articles by Stephen Dinan
Trump legal team loses election challenges 59 out of 60 times
Maybe President Trump finally got tired of all the winning, because his legal team has been on a historic run of losing, going just 1-for-60 in court challenges to the way last month's elections were run. Published December 13, 2020
Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Washington, D.C., sues Mayor Muriel Bowser over coronavirus rules
The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Washington sued D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser on Friday over her new coronavirus order capping churches to a maximum of 50 people for services, arguing she's picking on houses of worship while letting businesses operate at higher capacity. Published December 11, 2020
Feds say California man bought Maserati with stolen COVID-19 unemployment money
Federal prosecutors on Friday announced an indictment against a California man they say bilked the government out of more than $133,000 in coronavirus unemployment benefits, and used the cash to buy the Maserati SUV he was driving when he was caught. Published December 11, 2020
Shutdown threat eases after Senate approves short-term spending bill
Senators approved a one-week extension of government spending Friday, doing their part to head off a government shutdown this weekend. Published December 11, 2020
DHS, DOJ announce major overhaul of asylum system
Homeland Security and the Justice Department finalized a major overhaul Thursday of the asylum system, moving to give immigration officers and judges the ability to quickly toss the kinds of bogus cases that have surged in recent years as smugglers have figured out how to game the system. Published December 10, 2020
House buys more time on full-year spending bill
The House on Wednesday approved a one-week extension of government funding and the Senate was expected to quickly follow suit as lawmakers from both parties eyed year-end deals. Published December 9, 2020
ICE: Criminal immigrants freed because of COVID going back to crime
ICE delivered a pointed I-told-you-so Tuesday to a federal judge who freed more than 250 undocumented immigrants from detention because of the coronavirus, revealing that in less than two months, at least six of them already stand accused of more crimes. Published December 8, 2020
ICE cancels ‘Tools of Tolerance’ training to meet Trump’s ban on ‘anti-American’ programs
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement has been paying tens of thousands of dollars a year to send executives for a special racial-justice training program at the museum. That's about to end, The Washington Times has learned. Published December 8, 2020
Peter Navarro, White House trade adviser, violated anti-politicking law
White House trade adviser Peter Navarro repeatedly violated federal law prohibiting Trump administration employees from politicking on government time, the Office of Special Counsel said in a ruling Monday that asked President Trump to discipline him. Published December 7, 2020
Illegal immigrants hop moving trains to evade capture
As President Trump's border wall, faster deportations and coronavirus border restrictions continue to bite, smugglers are looking for new ways to get their customers into the U.S. and to their destinations in the interior. Published December 6, 2020
Honduras asks U.S. to grant deportation amnesty after hurricanes
Honduran President Juan Orlando Hernandez asked the U.S. on Friday to renew the special Temporary Protected Status for some 44,000 of his citizens living here, saying his own country was battered by recent storms and can't be expected to welcome them back. Published December 4, 2020
DACA full restart ordered by federal judge
A federal judge late last week ordered the Trump administration to restore the DACA program back to what it was when President Obama created it -- including a backdoor pathway to citizenship that's already been used by more than 14,000 "Dreamers." Published December 4, 2020
Birth tourism in Northern Mariana Islands targeted by Republican lawmakers
An Obama-era policy has turned a U.S. territory in the Pacific into a hot spot for "birth tourism," as Chinese women flock to the islands to deliver babies who automatically become American citizens -- and two Republican congressmen this week asked the Homeland Security Department to shut down the pipeline. Published December 3, 2020
DOJ says Facebook gave preference to foreigners over American workers
The Justice Department said Thursday that Facebook "intentionally" discriminated against U.S. workers and hired foreign guest workers instead -- and actively tried to deter Americans from even applying. Published December 3, 2020
Rita Hart, Iowa Democrat, asks Nancy Pelosi, House Democrats to overturn her loss
An Iowa Democrat who lost her election bid by six votes said Wednesday she will ask Speaker Nancy Pelosi and the House to overturn the certified result and declare her the winner. Published December 2, 2020
Police bust ‘birth houses’ aimed at scamming U.S. citizenship for Turkish migrants’ babies
Federal prosecutors announced an indictment Wednesday against six people they say operated "birth houses" in New York where they housed Turkish women who'd scammed the immigration system in order to be in the U.S. to give birth -- earning automatic citizenship for their children. Published December 2, 2020
Texas GOP Rep. Brian Babin offers up new election bill: ‘You must be alive to vote’
It seems odd that it would take a federal law to ensure that only people who are actually alive are voting in elections. But a Republican congressman announced legislation Wednesday to do just that. Published December 2, 2020
Appeals court gives OK to North Carolina voter-ID law
North Carolina can demand voters show a photo ID before being able to cast ballots at polling places, a federal appeals court ruled Wednesday, rejecting a lower judge's injunction that found the state legislature's history of discrimination tainted any such attempt. Published December 2, 2020
Lamar Alexander’s parting shot: Senate needs ‘a change of behavior’
Sen. Lamar Alexander, retiring this year after three terms, pleaded Wednesday with fellow senators to get the storied chamber back on track as the backbone of legislative compromise, warning against shortcuts such as Democrats' ravenous appetite for doing away with the filibuster. Published December 2, 2020
Judge Jeffrey White blocks Trump bid forcing firms to pay Americans before hiring foreign workers
A federal judge on Tuesday blocked the government's attempt to force companies to offer better pay to Americans before looking to hire skilled foreign workers for those jobs, ruling that the Trump administration cut too many corners. Published December 1, 2020
