Stephen Dinan
Articles by Stephen Dinan
FBI still hasn’t turned over Huma Abedin emails
The FBI still hasn't turned over to the State Department any of the messages it reportedly obtained from the computer shared by top Clinton aide Huma Abedin and her now-estranged husband Anthony Weiner, the administration told a federal judge Tuesday. Published November 29, 2016
Donald Trump wins Michigan’s 16 electoral votes, state board says
Michigan elections officials certified Monday that Donald Trump did win the state on Nov. 8, giving him a projected 306-232 win in the Electoral College -- but his opponents are still trying to wrench the victory away from him, raising millions of dollars to force recounts in enough states to swipe the race. Published November 28, 2016
Snuggies, Silent Shakespeare top annual government wasteful-spending list
If Shakespeare is performed without the bard's immortal words, is it really Shakespeare? The National Education Association has committed $10,000 of taxpayers' money to test that question -- one of dozens of projects to make the wasteful spending list of Sen. James Lankford, an Oklahoma Republican who's continuing the tradition of former Sen. Tom Coburn's annual Wastebook. Published November 28, 2016
Hillary Clinton’s email woes persist after election: ‘Nothing has been settled’
They won't now complicate a Hillary Clinton presidency, but the emails from her time in the State Department will still trickle out over the next months as the administration tries to clean up the mess Mrs. Clinton left. Published November 27, 2016
Democrat Richard Blumenthal calls for special counsel to prevent Trump-tainted probe
One Democratic senator wants the Obama Justice Department to leave behind a watchdog independent of President-elect Donald Trump, calling for the attorney general to appoint a special counsel to continue a probe into the 2008 financial crisis. Published November 25, 2016
Electronic voting under scrutiny as computer experts lobby for recounts in swing states
The paper-or-plastic dilemma has moved out of the supermarket and into America's boards of elections, where officials are grappling with that very question in the wake of yet another messy presidential race. Published November 23, 2016
Number of illegal immigrants in detention surges 20 percent as DHS vows to deport Haitians
Homeland Security is holding some 41,000 illegal immigrants in detention right now, the department said Wednesday, as agents struggle to get control of a new surge across the border -- including a wave of Haitian migrants that is testing the limits of immigration policy. Published November 23, 2016
Justice Department backs down on immigration, digs in on Obamacare
The Justice Department has begun to suspend court cases over immigration policy, moving to give the Trump administration a chance to weigh in on the legal strategy, but it refused Tuesday to halt the challenge to Obamacare, suggesting it will try to go to the mat to protect the president's signature achievement. Published November 22, 2016
Green card errors send duplicates, wrong information
Green cards are the Holy Grail of U.S. immigration, but the federal agency responsible for doling them out regularly botches the process, issuing duplicates or triplicates to some immigrants or sending out 10-year permits to people who qualify only for two-year cards, an internal audit shows. Published November 22, 2016
Donna Brazile blames ‘voter suppression’ for election losses
Democrats have a lot to be pleased with after this month's elections, interim party Chair Donna Brazile said Tuesday, pointing to small pickups in the House and Senate and Hillary Clinton's moral victory in the popular vote as evidence things aren't as grim as some have said. Published November 22, 2016
Illegal immigrants pose as families, tell tales of woe to gain entry to U.S.
Illegal immigrants are trying a bold new strategy to sneak into the U.S. — pairing up with unrelated children and pretending to be families, fabricating tales of heart-rending woes back home to try to convince border agents to admit them into the country, according to internal Homeland Security documents reviewed by The Washington Times. Published November 21, 2016
Judge’s order to provide detained migrants with beds likely to strain Border Patrol
A federal judge ruled last week that illegal immigrants have a constitutional right to a bed and a mattress, and ordered the Border Patrol to begin providing sleeping mats for every migrant detained for more than a few hours. Published November 21, 2016
Donald Trump to withdraw U.S. from Trans-Pacific Partnership on first day in office
President-elect Donald Trump said Monday that on his first day in office, he will issue a notice that the U.S. is withdrawing from the Pacific trade deal negotiated by President Obama, calling it "a potential disaster for our country." Published November 21, 2016
Haitian illegal immigrants pouring into U.S., exploiting Obama policies
Haitian illegal immigrants are pouring into the U.S. at a rate of some 3,000 a month, blazing new paths and exploiting special policies and lax Obama administration enforcement to gain a foothold in the country, according to a secret government intelligence assessment. Published November 20, 2016
Jeff Sessions may prosecute ‘sanctuary cities’ if confirmed as attorney general
Sen. Jeff Sessions is on record saying so-called "sanctuary cities" that protect illegal immigrants should be prosecuted. He himself may get that chance next year. Published November 20, 2016
Jeff Sessions has powerful character witness amid racism accusations
Civil rights and immigration advocacy groups are blasting Sen. Jeff Sessions as the nearest thing to a member of the Ku Klux Klan, but one prominent black lawyer in Alabama says he's no racist. Published November 18, 2016
Obama halts immigration amnesty push in court, bows to incoming Trump administration
The administration has already taken the first step to accommodate President-elect Trump's positions, agreeing Friday to take a timeout on President Obama's push to kick-start his 2014 deportation amnesty. Published November 18, 2016
Donald Trump picks Jeff Sessions for attorney general, Mike Pompeo for CIA chief
President-elect Donald Trump has tapped Sen. Jeff Sessions to be the next attorney general, igniting what promises to be a bruising battle with Democrats who fear the staunch conservative will take the Justice Department in a completely different direction than the Obama administration. Published November 18, 2016
Michelle Obama is Democrats’ best bet for 2020: Oddsmakers
Michelle Obama says she wants nothing to do with politics now, but oddsmakers still say she's got the best chance of any Democrat of winning the White House in four years. Published November 17, 2016
IRS exposed taxpayers’ info through shoddy emails: Audit
A surprising number of IRS employees are sending unencrypted emails containing personal taxpayer information to private accounts, putting that information at risk of being stolen, the agency's inspector general said Thursday. Published November 17, 2016