Stephen Dinan
Articles by Stephen Dinan
John Boehner: U.S. ‘losing ground’ to terrorists
House Speaker John A. Boehner said Thursday that the U.S. and its allies are "losing ground" to the terrorists in Iraq and demanded President Obama come up with a better strategy for the fight. Published June 4, 2015
TSA chief nominee clears first hurdle
A key Senate panel cleared President Obama's pick to head the TSA on Thursday, moving quickly just days after a report that airport screeners missed most of the contraband weapons investigators tried to sneak by them in tests. Published June 4, 2015
Jason Chaffetz presses Mary Howard on IRS on transparency
The House's top investigator vowed Wednesday to bring the IRS to heel after he had to issue a subpoena to compel the agency's top transparency officer to appear before Congress to talk about transparency — a move Oversight Committee Chairman Jason Chaffetz said was embarrassing for the IRS. Published June 3, 2015
3,700 illegal immigrant ‘Threat Level 1’ criminals released into U.S. by Homeland Security
Most of the illegal immigrant criminals Homeland Security officials released from custody last year were discretionary, meaning the department could have kept them in detention but chose instead to let them onto the streets as their deportation cases moved through the system, according to new numbers from Congress. Published June 3, 2015
IRS finally admits illegals can get back taxes under Obama amnesty
IRS Commissioner John Koskinen has confirmed to Congress that illegal immigrants granted amnesty under President Obama's new programs could claim back refunds even when they never filed returns to pay their taxes in the first place. Published June 3, 2015
NSA phone program doomed as Senate passes USA Freedom Act
The National Security Agency's phone-snooping program is on its last legs after senators approved the USA Freedom Act Tuesday, rewriting the sweeping Patriot Act to ban bulk collection of Americans' data and adding more transparency checks to the secret court that oversees intelligence gathering in the hopes of heading off future surprises. Published June 2, 2015
TSA bragged about gun seizure success rate ahead of new failure report
This week's report that the Transportation Security Agency failed to spot 95 percent of contraband weapons snuck through in tests of airport screeners comes just a few months after the agency bragged about the good job it was doing in sniffing out guns and other weapons. Published June 2, 2015
IRS missed chances to stop cyberattack: Auditor
The IRS ignored repeated warnings from its own inspector general that could have made it much harder for the cyberattackers who stole the private taxpayer information of 100,000 Americans earlier this year, the agency's inspector general testified to Congress on Tuesday. Published June 2, 2015
TSA chief ousted after airport security flunks test, misses most weapons, explosives
The acting chief of the Transportation Security Administration was ousted late Monday night after an embarrassing new report found that airport security officers badly failed a new test, missing almost every firearm and explosive investigators tried to sneak by them. Published June 1, 2015
Patriot Act backers scramble to save NSA phone snooping powers
Patriot Act defenders mounted a last-ditch effort Monday to try to preserve the NSA's phone-snooping, arguing -- against most evidence to the contrary -- that the program is useful in the fight against terrorists, and insisting it has been grossly distorted by opponents. Published June 1, 2015
Social Security paid $20M to Nazis
Social Security paid more than $20 million in benefits to alleged Nazis over the last five decades, according to a new internal audit completed late last week that found the last known or suspected Nazi finally stopped getting benefits only last month. Published June 1, 2015
Rand Paul stalls Patriot Act NSA surveillance powers past renewal deadline
Key government surveillance powers under the Patriot Act were set to expire Monday after Republican leaders were unable to surmount the objections of Sen. Rand Paul, sending Congress careening past a midnight deadline. Published May 31, 2015
Drug smugglers get creative in bids to elude U.S. border guards
Hidden inside a load of green peppers, sealed in bales of coiled cable wire, stuffed inside the cups of women's bras -- drug runners are finding increasingly innovative places to stash their illicit cargo as they try to sneak it by U.S. border guards. Published May 31, 2015
Patriot Act expiration looms with Senate stalemate on USA Freedom Act
With the Patriot Act expiration looming at midnight, senators appeared no closer Sunday to a deal with Republican leaders insisting on either a full extension of all powers or else nothing at all. Published May 31, 2015
John Boehner ‘saddened’ by indictment of former GOP speaker Dennis Hastert
House Speaker John A. Boehner said Friday he was "shocked" to learn of the accusations against his predecessor, former Speaker J. Dennis Hastert, who was indicted by a grand jury this week on charges of hiding currency and lying to FBI officials about it. Published May 29, 2015
Obama, James Clapper plead Senate GOP to relent on Patriot Act standoff
President Obama and the government's chief intelligence official made a plea Friday for Senate Republican leaders to relent in their fight to preserve the NSA's phone-snooping program, saying that unless a deal is reached by Sunday, investigators will no longer be able to apply for new roving wiretaps come Monday. Published May 29, 2015
Homeland Security granted work visas despite injunction
The administration is fighting feverishly to try to keep a federal judge from riding herd on its deportation amnesty, saying in papers filed late Wednesday that while Homeland Security goofed in breaking a court injunction, it was an "isolated" incident and vowing it won't happen again. Published May 28, 2015
Dennis Hastert agreed to pay $3.5 million to hide ‘prior misconduct,’ indictment alleges
A federal grand jury indicted former House Speaker J. Dennis Hastert Thursday with trying to circumvent currency rules and then lying to the FBI to hide payments he was making for past "misconduct" against an individual he seemingly knew from his time as a high school coach and teacher. Published May 28, 2015
IRS bilked for billions in bogus refunds: audit
The IRS has gotten better at detecting fraud but still paid out $2.1 billion in potentially bogus refunds in 2012, according to a new audit Thursday that found the agency paid refunds on nearly 600 tax returns filed to the same address in Kilkenny, Ireland. Published May 28, 2015
House GOP demands criminal investigation into Lois Lerner
Insisting Lois G. Lerner is still a target, congressional Republicans sent a letter to new Attorney General Loretta Lynch Thursday asking her to follow through on their official request last year for a criminal investigation into Ms. Lerner's behavior at the IRS. Published May 28, 2015
