Stephen Dinan
Articles by Stephen Dinan
Lois Lerner on IRS hard drive crash: ‘Sometimes stuff just happens’
Lois G. Lerner, the employee at the center of the IRS tea party targeting scandal, wanted to recover files from her computer hard drive after it crashed in 2011, but when told it was impossible, she took a philosophical view. Published June 17, 2014
GOP to investigate IRS computer crash, claim of lost Lerner emails
Republicans ridiculed a claim that the Internal Revenue Service lost two years worth of Lois G. Lerner's emails, with top lawmakers Monday summoning the commissioner to Congress next week to explain the foul-up and one tea party group demanding access to the computers that the tax agency says were responsible for the failure. Published June 17, 2014
Supreme Court rules for stricter scrutiny of gun purchases
The Supreme Court on Monday tightened restrictions on gun purchases, ruling that the government can be strict in trying to weed out potential "straw" buyers who plan to traffic the weapons. Published June 16, 2014
Congresswoman urges Obama to send National Guard to border
A top member of Congress called on President Obama on Monday to deploy the National Guard to the southwest border to help the Border Patrol handle the surge of illegal immigrant children. Published June 16, 2014
Border official denies mistreatment of illegal immigrant children
Gil Kerlikowske, commissioner of U.S. Customs and Border Protection, said Friday that many of the illegal immigrant children his agents are encountering trying to slip across the U.S.-Mexico border have never even seen a doctor before. Published June 15, 2014
Republicans rebuke IRS explanation for losing Lois Lerner emails
The IRS last week sent a letter explaining how it lost some of former employee Lois G. Lerner's emails from 2009 through 2011, including some from her communications with Democrats in Congress or with other federal agencies, drawing a stern rebuke from Republicans. Published June 15, 2014
Sen. Tom Coburn says VA scandal goes deeper than wait lists
Sen. Tom Coburn, a doctor, said in Republicans' weekly radio address Saturday that the problems at the VA go beyond the long wait times, and include substandard care that's led to veterans' deaths. Published June 14, 2014
IRS says it lost key Lerner emails
The IRS has told Congress that it has lost some of former employee Lois G. Lerner's emails, including some covering communications with Democrats in Congress and with other parts of the government, the House's top tax-law writer said Friday. Published June 13, 2014
Border Patrol changing diapers, heating baby formula for surge of children
Gil Kerlikowske, commissioner of U.S. Customs and Border Protection, said Friday that many of the illegal immigrant children his agents are encountering trying to slip across the U.S.-Mexico border have never even seen a doctor before. Published June 13, 2014
Homeland Security to probe border child abuse allegations
Homeland Security officials announced an investigation Thursday into charges that Customs and Border Protection officers abused some of the young children surging across the U.S. border, as the government continued to struggle to get a handle on the burgeoning problem. Published June 12, 2014
Former NSA director backs House bill to rein in spy agency
The head of the government's civil liberties protection board said Thursday that its classified review of the NSA's collection of Americans telephone records didn't turn up any evidence of abuses — but both he and the man who lead the National Security Agency's program said it's still time to end bulk collection. Published June 12, 2014
Immigration activists blockade Boehner office
More than a dozen immigration activists blocked the hallway in front of Speaker John A. Boehner's office in one of the House buildings on Wednesday, demanding that he bring an immigration bill to the floor for an immediate vote. Published June 11, 2014
Democrats say Cantor’s loss should speed up immigration bill
Democrats and immigrant-rights advocates on Wednesday mounted a forceful effort to save immigration, arguing that House Majority Leader Eric Cantor's stunning loss in a GOP primary on Tuesday shouldn't be seen as a statement on the congressman's support for legalizing illegal immigrants. Published June 11, 2014
Surge in illegal immigrants blamed on U.S. policy, not on spiking violence in Central America
Illegal immigrants from Central America are surging across the U.S.-Mexico border because they believe they can take advantage of American immigration policy and gain at least a tentative foothold in the country, according to an internal Border Patrol intelligence memo. Published June 11, 2014
Homeland Security chief Jeh Johnson admits to need for border reform
Both in public and in private meetings, new Homeland Security Secretary Jeh Johnson readily acknowledges there is a border "problem" that needs fixing — a major departure from his predecessor, Janet Napolitano, whose consistent refrain was that the border was more secure than it had ever been. Published June 10, 2014
Senate takes first step, adds $1 billion for children surging across the border
Senate appropriators on Tuesday added $1 billion to a spending bill to pay for social workers caring for the surge of children pouring across the U.S.-Mexico border, saying the humanitarian crisis is growing so quickly it's outpacing the government's ability to handle it. Published June 10, 2014
IRS adopts taxpayers’ bill of rights
The IRS said Tuesday it has come up with a taxpayers' bill of rights — a list of 10 guarantees the tax agency says it will give Americans — including the right to privacy and the right to appeals. Published June 10, 2014
Less than half of immigrants speak English well: Census Bureau
Less than half of immigrants speak English very well and about 13 percent don't speak it at all, according to new numbers the U.S. Census Bureau released Tuesday. Published June 10, 2014
Boehner: Obama trusted us with bin Laden but not Bergdahl
House Speaker John A. Boehner said Tuesday he rejected the White House's latest explanation for keeping Congress in the dark about the swap for Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl, saying that top leaders in Congress were able to be briefed ahead of the Osama bin Laden strike and should have been consulted this time. Published June 10, 2014
Watchdog rebuffed on EPA data turns to NSA
A pro-business watchdog group sued the National Security Agency on Monday, demanding that the spy agency turn over metadata logs for some phones registered to top EPA officials in a pioneering legal maneuver that seeks to use the government's own secret data to check up on other agencies. Published June 9, 2014
