Stephen Dinan
Articles by Stephen Dinan
Kavanaugh hearings likely to push to September
Judge Brett Kavanaugh may not be on the Supreme Court for the start of the justices' new term in early October, a key senator signaled Tuesday, suggesting a slightly slower schedule than some Republicans had hoped for. Published August 1, 2018
GOP focused on avoiding government shutdown
Congressional Republicans on Tuesday brushed off President Trump's threats of a government shutdown over border wall funding, saying that while money for the wall is important, they're not going to let it send Congress into partisan gridlock. Published July 31, 2018
Top health official warned feds against family separations
A senior government health official had warned the Trump administration against any policy that would lead to immigrant family separations after crossing the border illegally, and was assured no such plan was in the works -- only to see the Justice Department announce the zero-tolerance policy anyway. Published July 31, 2018
Paul Manafort will remain in jail during trial, court rules
Paul Manafort will remain behind bars while he fights two separate prosecutions, a federal appeals court ruled Tuesday, upholding a district court judge's decision that Mr. Manafort tried to tamper with witnesses in the case against him. Published July 31, 2018
Grassley, Feinstein demand review of abuse of immigrants in detention
Two top senators called for an investigation Monday into reports of sexual abuse and other mistreatment of migrants being held in government custody. Published July 30, 2018
Feds nab man for smuggling ‘special interest’ migrants from Yemen
Federal authorities announced Monday that they had arrested a Jordanian man who they accused of smuggling people into the U.S. from Yemen, which is deemed a "special interest" country because of its connection to terrorism. Published July 30, 2018
ICE officers demand Portland mayor apologize for ‘Occupy ICE’ chaos
Portland's mayor violated the Constitution by ordering his police officers to stand down, allowing protesters to menace ICE employees over the last six weeks, according to agency employees who sent a cease-and-desist letter to the city Monday. Published July 30, 2018
Activists revive ‘Muslim ban’ challenge over lack of waivers
The Supreme Court may have upheld President Trump's travel ban, but several dozen Muslims are still challenging the way his administration is carrying it out, saying he's not living up to the terms he set for his own policy. Published July 30, 2018
National Archives releases first batch of Kavanaugh documents
The National Archives on Monday released the first big batch of documents from Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh's time in the independent counsel's office in the 1990s. Published July 30, 2018
Illegal immigrant court complaint: Bad food, chill, disease
Illegal immigrant families are furious at the treatment they received after being detained at the border, complaining of bad burritos, cold soups, being forced to drink water out of toilets and contagious disease outbreaks that have swept through the facilities. Published July 29, 2018
Mitch McConnell says Judge Brett Kavanaugh will be confirmed despite Democrats’ resistance
Republicans have sent the clearest signals yet that they will not allow Democratic foot-dragging to delay their push to confirm a new Supreme Court justice, ditching negotiations and plowing ahead with their own more-limited investigation into Judge Brett M. Kavanaugh's background. Published July 29, 2018
Judge: Border family reunification ‘has been completed’
The judge overseeing the chaos from President Trump's zero-tolerance border policy gave the government good marks for its efforts to reunify families, saying that for the parents the government has control over "that process has been completed." Published July 28, 2018
GOP sets deadline for Kavanaugh documents; Dems say they’re being cut out
Senate Judiciary Chairman Charles E. Grassley said Friday he's hit a wall in negotiations with Democrats over documents from Judge Brett M. Kavanaugh's past, and he moved unilaterally to request a more limited set of papers from his time in the Bush White House. Published July 27, 2018
Chuck Schumer asks George W. Bush for help as Democrats try to derail court nominee
The top Senate Democrat tried to rope former President George W. Bush into the fight over the new Supreme Court pick, saying Friday it's up to Mr. Bush to make sure Congress has the documents it needs to vet and approve the nominee. Published July 27, 2018
Chicago beats Trump in sanctuary-city challenge
The Trump administration suffered another legal defeat on its sanctuary city crackdown after a judge Friday permanently blocked the government from retaliating against Chicago's sanctuary policy by stripping police grant money. Published July 27, 2018
Family separations: Trump administration, critics debate progress as deadline passes
The Trump administration says it met a court-imposed Thursday deadline for reuniting illegal immigrant families it deemed eligible, though critics said the government fell far short of the goal. Published July 26, 2018
Noncitizen voting push in liberal jurisdictions draws GOP pushback
Forget the Russian government -- foreign nationals are increasingly gaining the ability to influence American elections more directly. They're being granted the right to vote. Published July 26, 2018
GOP: Trump is willing to wait on wall funding
President Trump is "willing to be patient" in waiting for more funding for his border wall, House Speaker Paul D. Ryan said Thursday, suggesting there won't be any new money in the pipeline at the start of the fiscal year on Oct. 1. Published July 26, 2018
Paul Ryan dismisses impeachment push for Rod Rosenstein
House Speaker Paul D. Ryan threw cold water Thursday on the new effort to impeach Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein, saying the move could even end up hurting the chances of confirming President Trump's Supreme Court nomination. Published July 26, 2018
Feds bust illegal immigrants on ID fraud
More than 20 illegal immigrants have been charged with document and benefit fraud, officials announced Thursday, after a Boston-based sweep designed to crack down on the means many illegal immigrants use to live and remain in the U.S. Published July 26, 2018
