Stephen Dinan
Articles by Stephen Dinan
GOP bill slashes tax break for NFL, other pro sports stadiums
The NFL would lose its ability to claim tax breaks for stadiums, colleges and universities would have to start paying taxes on massive endowments, and house "flippers" could no longer shield their income from the taxman under House Republicans' proposed tax bill, which takes aim at a number of quirks that have developed over the years. Published November 2, 2017
Democrats sue under arcane law to pry Trump hotel documents from admin.
House Democrats filed a federal lawsuit Thursday accusing the administration of illegally withholding documents governing the Trump International Hotel in D.C., as they try to press their claim that the hotel's operations violate the Constitution. Published November 2, 2017
Donald Trump vows to end Diversity Visa Lottery
President Trump and top congressional Republicans promised Wednesday to scrap the country's green-card lottery after it became clear that the suspect in this week's terrorist truck attack in New York City used the Diversity Visa Lottery to gain a foothold in the U.S. in 2010. Published November 1, 2017
Lindsey Graham says cutting Diversity Visa Lottery could be part of DACA fix
Sen. Lindsey Graham said Wednesday that eliminating the Diversity Visa Lottery -- the method the suspect in the New York terrorist attack used to gain a foothold in the U.S. -- should be part of any bill to legalize illegal immigrant Dreamers. Published November 1, 2017
Lindsey Graham: Treat NYC suspect as ‘enemy combatant’
A top senator said Wednesday that the suspect in Tuesday's attack in New York should be held as an unlawful enemy combatant, denied Miranda rights and subject to interrogation to try to find out more about what motivated him and whether he is working with others. Published November 1, 2017
NYC suspect came to U.S. on Diversity Visa Lottery
The suspect in Tuesday's New York City terrorist attack is an immigrant who came to the U.S. through the Diversity Visa Lottery, a controversial program that since 1990 has doled out pathways to citizenship in the U.S. based literally on luck of the draw. Published November 1, 2017
Chuck Schumer says answer to terror attack is money, not Trump’s extreme vetting
Senate Minority Leader Charles E. Schumer said Wednesday that the solution to terrorist attacks like Tuesday's strike in New York is more money, rather than more restrictions on immigration. Published November 1, 2017
Richard Burr says media botched Russian-social media story
The Russian operatives who ran Facebook ads surrounding last year's election ran four times as many ads in Maryland -- a deep-blue state -- than they did on the critical swing state of Wisconsin, the chairman of the Senate intelligence committee said Wednesday. Published November 1, 2017
Russian ads targeted issues, not candidates, social media execs say
Russian-backed mischief-makers and disinformation accounts were a tiny fraction of the online conversation leading up to last year's presidential election, and most of their efforts sowed discord over hot-button issues such as immigration and guns rather than attacking specific candidates, top social media executives told Congress on Tuesday. Published October 31, 2017
Ed Gillespie attack ad showing truck attack pulled New York terror incident
An immigrant-rights group pulled down an ad depicting a truck stalking young minority children -- an attack ad agains the Republican in Virginia's governor's race -- after the New York vehicle attack Tuesday. Published October 31, 2017
Russian-backed social media accounts attacked Clinton before election, Trump afterward
The same Russian-backed operatives who tried to sow discord during the 2016 election and targeted Hillary Clinton then went on to attack President Trump once the election was over, top social media company executives told Congress on Tuesday. Published October 31, 2017
IRS fends off 4 million hacking attempts a day
The IRS fends off 4 million hacking attempts a day, Commissioner John Koskinen said Tuesday, saying the tax agency does a solid job of keeping intruders out of its databases, though hackers have managed to spoof some taxpayers and steal their information individually. Published October 31, 2017
Afghanistan security deteriorates as U.S. takes deeper role
Even as the U.S. takes a deeper role in Afghanistan the situation there is getting worse, with armed clashes at an all-time high, insurgents controlling more territory and civilian casualties from pro-government forces up 52 percent this year, an inspector general told Congress Tuesday. Published October 31, 2017
Robert Mueller indicts Paul Manafort, Richard Gates
The special counsel investigating Russian meddling in the presidential election last year dropped two bombshells Monday, announcing a guilty plea from a Trump campaign foreign policy adviser to lying to the FBI about contacts with Russian operatives, and unsealing charges of money laundering and tax evasion against two top Trump campaign figures. Published October 30, 2017
Judge halts Donald Trump’s transgender troop ban
A federal judge on Monday halted President Trump's move to oust transgender service members from the military, saying those troops qualify as a protected class and rejecting Mr. Trump's claim that his national security decisions shouldn't be questioned. Published October 30, 2017
GOP congressman says tea party apology ‘not accepted’
Rep. Vern Buchanan said Monday that the administration's apology last week for tea party targeting wasn't good enough, and said "heads should roll" at the IRS. Published October 30, 2017
Nancy Pelosi calls for ‘fully independent’ investigation of Trump, Russia ties
House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi said Monday that a "fully independent" investigation was still needed to investigate possible collusion with Russia. Published October 30, 2017
George Washington’s church to tear down memorial honoring first president
George Washington was one of the founding members of Christ Church in Alexandria, Virginia, buying pew No. 5 when the church opened in 1773 and attending for more than two decades whenever he rode north from Mount Vernon to do business in town. Published October 27, 2017
ACLU sues Trump administration
The ACLU sued Thursday to try to force the Trump administration to grant Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals protections to an illegal immigrant woman, in a case that will test the boundaries of the Obama-era deportation amnesty and President Trump's bid to end it. Published October 26, 2017
Tea party groups targeted by IRS get $3.5 million settlement
The Trump administration agreed Thursday to pay $3.5 million to tea party groups snared by IRS targeting during the Obama administration, saying the intrusive scrutiny was illegal and cannot be allowed to happen again. Published October 26, 2017
