Stephen Dinan
Articles by Stephen Dinan
Federal agencies can’t be forced to find emails sent from personal accounts: judge
A federal judge ruled Tuesday that federal agencies can't be forced to go track down emails sent by employees from their personal accounts, in a case that could shield former Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton, who conducted business on private accounts rather than a government email address. Published March 3, 2015
Benjamin Netanyahu says U.S., Israeli fates tied together in fight against Iran
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu challenged Congress on Tuesday to stand firm in the face of terrorist threats whether from Iran or the Islamic State, and accused President Obama of naivety in his negotiations to try to constrain Iranian leaders’ nuclear program. Published March 3, 2015
Senate rejects debate on homeland funds in push for ‘clean’ bill
The Senate on Monday rejected further negotiations over homeland security spending and sent a "clean" spending bill back to the House minus any restrictions on President Obama's deportation amnesty, daring House Republicans to either accept it as is or face blame for shutting down key security agencies. Published March 2, 2015
Judge rules EPA lied about transparency, tells agency to halt discrimination against conservatives
A federal judge warned the Environmental Protection Agency on Monday not to discriminate against conservative groups in how it responds to open-records requests, issuing a legal spanking. Published March 2, 2015
IRS defends paying refunds to illegals who never filed taxes
The IRS is defending its decision to let illegal immigrants claim up to three years' refunds on income even if they never paid income taxes, telling Congress in a new letter last week that agency lawyers have concluded getting a Social Security number triggers the ability to go back and ask for previous refunds. Published March 2, 2015
Border-jumpers enticed by legalization debate in U.S.
The debate over legalizing illegal immigrants was "a primary cause" of last summer's surge of Central Americans jumping the U.S.-Mexico border, the Government Accountability Office reported Friday, citing surveys of U.S. officials on the ground in Guatemala, Honduras and El Salvador. Published March 1, 2015
Congress averts DHS shutdown with one-week infusion of funds
Agreeing on little else, Democrats and Republicans managed to come together late Friday to pass a short-term bill to keep the Homeland Security Department running one more week — though they made little headway on solving the underlying fight over President Obama's deportation amnesty. Published February 27, 2015
House rejects Homeland Security funding
Conservatives rebelled in the House Friday afternoon, joining Democrats to defeat a bill to keep the Homeland Security Department open past a midnight shutdown deadline and leaving funding in doubt as all sides continued to fight over President Obama's deportation amnesty. Published February 27, 2015
Senate drops objections to Obama amnesty, clears ‘clean’ homeland bill
Senate Republican leaders retreated on the homeland security spending fight Friday morning, voting with Democrats to delete provisions that would have stopped President Obama's deportation amnesty in order to avoid a partial shutdown of the Homeland Security Department at midnight. Published February 27, 2015
GOP dismisses CBO Director Douglas Elmendorf, picks Republican stalwart as chief scorekeeper
Republicans Friday announced they will not keep current chief congressional scorekeeper Douglas Elmendorf and will replace him with Keith Hall, an economist with a long record of service in Washington and deep ties to Republicans. Published February 27, 2015
IRS watchdog reveals Lois Lerner missing emails now subject of criminal investigation
The IRS's inspector general confirmed Thursday it is conducting a criminal investigation into how Lois G. Lerner's emails disappeared, saying it took only two weeks for investigators to find hundreds of tapes the agency's chief had told Congress were irretrievably destroyed. Published February 26, 2015
Loretta Lynch AG nomination clears committee with GOP votes
The Senate Judiciary Committee cleared Loretta Lynch on Thursday to be the next attorney general, virtually guaranteeing she will be confirmed in the full Senate next month, even as Democrats intimated that Republicans who opposed her were guilty of racism. Published February 26, 2015
Peter Roskam: House bill would ban IRS from gift taxes on nonprofits
A key House Republican will introduce a bill Thursday to ban the IRS from taxing gifts to nonprofits, trying to make sure the tax agency isn't able to selectively target conservative organizations by singling them out for scrutiny. Published February 26, 2015
Civil rights commissioner warns of illegals voting under Obama amnesty
Civil Rights Commissioner Peter Kirsanow warned Congress on Wednesday that President Obama's deportation amnesty program, which will allow illegal immigrants to get Social Security numbers and driver's licenses, will make it much easier for them to register and vote in U.S. elections — despite being ineligible to do so. Published February 25, 2015
DHS deportation beds empty as Obama policies leave illegals on the streets
The administration this year hasn't been able to find enough illegal immigrants to fill the 34,000 detention beds the law requires, as President Obama's new policies kick in and agents spend more time and money going after each immigrant they do detain. Published February 25, 2015
CPAC/Washington Times straw poll tests 17 GOP presidential candidates
Seventeen potential candidates — including current and former governors, senators and political outsiders — are part of the 2015 GOP presidential straw poll at the Conservative Political Action Conference, which opens Wednesday and runs through Saturday just outside Washington. Published February 25, 2015
Republicans to roll out immigration enforcement bills
House Republicans will introduce four new immigration enforcement bills this week and plan to begin pushing them through committee next week as the GOP sets up the outlines of what the post-shutdown showdown immigration fight will be. Published February 25, 2015
Loretta Lynch, attorney general nominee, dodges questions, falls in line with Eric Holder
When it comes to most of the thorny issues she'll be asked to referee on between President Obama and Congress, Loretta Lynch, the woman nominated to be the next attorney general, said she doesn't yet have a sense for how she'll come down. Published February 24, 2015
Obama amnesty contract quietly canceled as White House struggles to comply with ruling
The Homeland Security Department quietly canceled one of its major amnesty contracts after a judge's ruling against the program last week, but officials have struggled to explain how they are complying otherwise even as the administration filed an appeal Monday asking that it be allowed to begin processing applications immediately. Published February 23, 2015
Obama Islamic State war powers beyond congressional control, research service finds
President Obama could still use ground troops in Iraq and Syria to fight the Islamic State and the next president could extend the war beyond the three-year limit no matter what Congress passes, lawmakers' research arm said this week in a legal brief that undercuts many of the key restrictions that Capitol Hill is demanding. Published February 23, 2015
