Stephen Dinan
Articles by Stephen Dinan
Marco Rubio unlikely to earn GOP new Hispanic fans: poll
As Sen. Marco Rubio prepares his presidential campaign, a pollster who specializes in surveying Latinos cast doubt on whether the Florida Republican will help the GOP make inroads with Hispanics. Published April 12, 2015
Huma Abedin’s job arrangement under Hillary Clinton investigated by State Department IG
The State Department's inspector general has agreed to investigate the program that allowed former Secretary Hillary Rodham Clinton to hire one of her key advisors, Huma Abedin, for government work even as she was also employed by a private firm. Published April 10, 2015
Senators demand probe into guest-worker program, American layoffs
They agree on little else in the immigration debate but Republican Sen. Jeff Sessions and Democratic Sen. Richard J. Durbin teamed together Thursday to ask the Obama administration to investigate the guest-worker program for high-skilled foreigners, fearing it's being abused by companies desperate for cheaper labor. Published April 9, 2015
Guns seen as force for self-defense, not a danger, poll shows
Economists who research guns and crime overwhelmingly believe that firearms are a force for protection more than a danger to owners and their surroundings, according to a new poll of the academics. Published April 8, 2015
Obama gun control push backfires as U.S. firearms industry sees unprecedented surge
The American firearms industry is as healthy as ever, seeing an unprecedented surge that has sent production of guns soaring to more than 10.8 million manufactured in 2013 alone — double the total of just three years earlier. Published April 8, 2015
Obama admin. fires back: Justice Dept. lawyers insist they didn’t lie to court over amnesty
The Justice Department denied Wednesday that it had lied to a federal judge about President Obama's deportation amnesty, with a spokeswoman saying they "emphatically disagree" with the court's decision granting limited legal discovery requiring them to turn over private documents showing their decision-making in the case. Published April 8, 2015
Obama motion to immediately restart amnesty rejected by federal judge
President Obama's new deportation amnesty will remain halted, a federal judge in Texas ruled Tuesday night in an order that also delivered a judicial spanking to the president's lawyers for misleading the court. Published April 7, 2015
Obama amnesty challenge could be undercut by ‘Dreamer’ lawsuit ruling
A federal appeals court Tuesday tossed a lawsuit trying to halt President Obama's 2012 deportation amnesty for illegal immigrant "Dreamers," ruling that neither immigration agents nor Mississippi could show enough of an injury to be allowed to sue. Published April 7, 2015
Humayun Mirza’s long journey to American citizenship
Humayun Mirza was born in British-controlled India, is the son of Pakistan's first president, has traveled on three different passports and studied many countries as a World Bank diplomat. But when his diplomatic visa was due to expire and he needed to decide on a permanent passport, his choices came down to U.S. or British citizenship. Published April 7, 2015
Court tosses challenge to 2012 deportation amnesty
A federal appeals court Tuesday tossed a lawsuit trying to halt President Obama's 2012 deportation amnesty for illegal immigrant Dreamers, ruling that neither immigration agents nor Mississippi, who had sued to stop the amnesty, could show an actual injury. Published April 7, 2015
Illegal immigrant children surge across border at highest rate since last summer’s peak
The second wave of unaccompanied illegal immigrant children has begun, with more than 3,000 of them surging across the Mexican border into the U.S. last month — the highest rate since the peak of last summer's crisis and a warning that another rough season could be ahead. Published April 6, 2015
D.C., Alexandria, Montgomery County demand amnesty for illegal immigrants
Alexandria, the District of Columbia and Montgomery County joined New York City and dozens of other municipalities across the country Monday in demanding a court allow President Obama's deportation amnesty to go into effect immediately, saying they want the tax revenue they think the newly legalized workers would bring. Published April 6, 2015
Congress immigration debate turns to guest workers, high-tech visas for businesses
With the push for a broad immigration bill now dead in Congress, business advocates are ramping up their calls for Republicans who run both chambers to at least consider updating the nation's guest-worker programs to help boost the economy. Published April 5, 2015
IRS ordered to release list of targeted tea party groups
A federal judge ordered the IRS this week to turn over the list of 298 groups it targeted for intrusive scrutiny as the agency defends against a potential class-action lawsuit by tea party groups who claim their constitutional rights were violated. Published April 2, 2015
Takisha Brown, former IRS ethics office lawyer, disbarred by D.C. Court of Appeals
A lawyer who worked in the IRS ethics office was disbarred Thursday by the District of Columbia Court of Appeals, which concluded she misappropriated a client's funds from a case she handled in private practice, broke a number of ethics rules and showed "reckless disregard for the truth" in misleading a disbarment panel looking into the matter. Published April 2, 2015
Robert Menendez demanded visas for ‘foreign girlfriends’ of campaign donor: Indictment
Sen. Robert Menendez repeatedly used his position of power to try to pressure the State Department to issue visas to a wealthy backer's "foreign girlfriends," including in one case seemingly forcing the department to reverse a denial and issue a tourist visa, according to the indictment handed up against the senator Wednesday. Published April 1, 2015
Lois Lerner, former IRS official, won’t be charged with contempt
The Obama administration informed House Speaker John A. Boehner this week it will not prosecute former IRS executive Lois G. Lerner for contempt of Congress, concluding that she did not waive her Fifth Amendment rights to avoid answering questions when she was called to testify nearly two years ago. Published April 1, 2015
John Koskinen: ‘Not the IRS’ of years past
IRS Commissioner John Koskinen said Tuesday the embattled agency's troubles are a thing of the past, insisting the tax collectors have halted extravagant conferences, no longer pay bonuses to employees who cheat on their taxes, and no longer target nonprofit groups for intrusive scrutiny. Published March 31, 2015
IRS ignoring 60 percent of taxpayers’ calls as deadline looms
IRS Commissioner John Koskinen said Tuesday that service at his agency has gotten so bad that they are ignoring more than 60 percent of taxpayers' phone calls during this tax season. Published March 31, 2015
Benghazi committee demands Hillary Clinton appear to explain emails
The Benghazi investigative committee on Tuesday formally requested former Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton give a transcribed interview detailing her decision-making in determining which emails she turned over to the government and why she wiped her email server clean. Published March 31, 2015
