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Stephen Dinan

Stephen Dinan

Stephen Dinan can be reached at sdinan@washingtontimes.com.

Articles by Stephen Dinan

President Barack Obama speaks in the East Room of the White House in Washington, Monday, June 9, 2014, before signing a Presidential Memorandum on reducing the burden of student loan debt. The president said the rising costs of college have left America's middle class feeling trapped. He says no hard-working youngster in America should be priced out of a higher education. Obama signed a presidential memorandum he says could help an additional 5 million borrowers.(AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivais)

Critics, Obama spar as child border crossings spike

Top Obama officials on Monday rejected accusations that their policies have invited the surge of young children trying to jump the U.S.-Mexico border and enter the country illegally, saying the cause is violence in Central America, not the promise of legal status here. Published June 9, 2014

"We're taking a historic step to strengthen our justice system and protect the rights of the most vulnerable members of society," Attorney General Eric H. Holder Jr. said in a statement (Associated Press)

Holder seeks legal team for children on border

The Obama administration announced a program late last week that would provide attorneys for the young illegal immigrant children crossing in waves over the U.S.-Mexico border, saying they want to make sure the unaccompanied minors are getting fair legal representation. Published June 8, 2014

Deputy Attorney General James Cole told the Senate intelligence committee that the administration is looking to end bulk data collection while allowing for enough flexibility to get large volumes of records if they are necessary to investigations. (Associated Press)

NSA phone snooping end in sight

The Obama administration vowed Thursday to end bulk collection of data if Congress passes a Patriot Act reform bill winding its way through the Senate, which is designed to end the NSA phone snooping program revealed by Edward Snowden. Published June 5, 2014

** FILE ** U.S. Border Patrol Tucson Sector Chief Manuel Padilla, left front, walks with other agents and media during a tour in the Buenos Aires National Wildlife Refuge, Wednesday, April 30, 2014, near Sasabe, Ariz. Padilla and other Border Patrol officials spent the day discussing the dangers for immigrants trying to cross the border illegally from Mexico into the U.S. (AP Photo/Brian Skoloff)

Surge in kids illegally crossing into U.S. alone strains Border Patrol

The flood of young children pouring across the southwestern border is worse than the administration has previously acknowledged, and efforts to deal with unaccompanied minors are overwhelming the Border Patrol, distracting it from going after smugglers and other illegal immigrants, according to an internal draft memo from the agency. Published June 5, 2014

In this March 18, 2014, file photo, Department of Homeland Security Secretary Jeh Johnson speaks during a news conference in Washington. Johnson, who's conducting a politically charged review of the nation's deportation policy, said Thursday, May 15 he's looking at making changes to a much-criticized program that runs people booked for local crimes through a federal immigration database.(AP Photo/ Evan Vucci, File)

DHS renews non-deportation policy for Dreamers

The Obama administration announced Thursday that it will renew the non-deportation for young adult illegal immigrants, meaning the more than 560,000 so-called "Dreamers" in the program can continue living and working in the U.S. with no fear of deportation. Published June 5, 2014

In this image taken from video obtained from Voice Of Jihad website, which has been authenticated based on its contents and other AP reporting, Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl, sits in a vehicle guarded by the Taliban in eastern Afghanistan. (AP Photo/Voice Of Jihad Website via AP video)

Congress twice rejected release of Taliban from Gitmo in trade for Bergdahl

President Obama's aides met with unanimous opposition from Congress when they first raised the possibility of releasing five Taliban guerrillas from Guantanamo Bay in 2011 and 2012, and administration officials publicly and repeatedly vowed to return to Capitol Hill before making any final moves. Published June 4, 2014

FILE - This May 8, 2014 file photo shows House Speaker John Boehner of Ohio speaking on Capitol Hill in Washington. To congressional Republicans, "Benghazi" is shorthand for incompetence and cover-up. Democrats hear it as the hollow sound of pointless investigations. It is, in fact, a Mediterranean port city in Libya that was the site of an attack on an American diplomatic compound on the 11th anniversary of 9/11 that killed U.S. Ambassador Chris Stevens and three other Americans. That's nearly all that U.S. politicians can agree on about Benghazi. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite, File)

Obama never consulted with Congress on Taliban prisoners: Boehner

The Pentagon said Tuesday that Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl may still face disciplinary action if he is found to have walked away from his post in 2009, as Obama administration officials sought to answer increasingly pointed questions about the deal that saw the U.S. release five Taliban warriors in exchange for getting the sergeant back. Published June 3, 2014

Families caught crossing from Mexico look through a box of donated clothing at the Greyhound bus terminal in Phoenix. Administration officials said they are trying to find ways to meet the law, which calls for immigration officials to turn over the children to the Health and Human Services Department within 72 hours after they are apprehended. (Associated press)

Kids flooding over southern border deemed ‘urgent,’ but Obama offers no plan

Faced with 60,000 unaccompanied children trying to cross the border illegally this year, President Obama on Monday declared it an "urgent humanitarian situation" and named a federal coordinator to make sure the children are cared for — but offered no new ideas for how to keep them from trying to enter. Published June 2, 2014

The Supreme Court (Associated Press) ** FILE **

Supreme Court rules international treaty doesn’t apply to domestic assault

The Supreme Court on Monday unanimously rejected the federal government's effort to stretch a major international treaty to cover a domestic dispute, ruling that a law meant to implement a chemical-weapons treaty doesn't apply to a woman who tried to poison her husband's lover. Published June 2, 2014

Rep. Dana Rohrabacher, California Republican, authored an amendment to a Justice Department spending bill that would prevent the federal government from interfering state medical marijuana laws. The language was approved 219-189, but still faces hurdles in the Senate. (Associated Press)

Medical marijuana scores big House win, but still faces hurdles

They won a historic vote in the House last week on relaxing federal marijuana policy, but backers said it's too early to declare victory, acknowledging that it will be a tough fight to get something through the Senate and on to President Obama this year. Published June 1, 2014

** FILE ** With the Colorado state capitol building visible in the background, partygoers dance and smoke pot on the first of two days at the annual 4/20 marijuana festival in Denver, Saturday, April 19, 2014. The annual event is the first 420 marijuana celebration since retail marijuana stores began selling in January 2014. (AP Photo/Brennan Linsley)

House votes to halt federal meddling in medical marijuana

The House voted early Friday to halt federal prosecutions of medical marijuana users in states that have legalized the drug's use with a doctor's prescription, marking the first time a chamber of Congress has approved such a broad decriminalization. Published May 30, 2014

Cynthia Diaz, 18, from Arizona, is senn outside the White House on Tuesday April 8,2014. She was there with a group of immigrant activists to protest deportations. Cynthia's mother was deported in 2011 and crossed back into the US from Mexico this March, and is now being detained in Arizona. Cynthia, a US citizen, says she'll go on hunger strike to pressure Obama to lay off the deportations. (AP Photo/The Tampa Bay Times, Alex Leary)

Obama’s immigration decision delay angers both sides

President Obama's decision this week to put off any new unilateral action to halt deportations didn't win the Republican support he'd hoped, but it did enrage his own allies among immigrant-rights advocates, who said tens of thousands of people who deserve to stay in the country will instead be kicked out over the next two months. Published May 28, 2014

House Oversight Committee Chairman Rep. Darrell Issa, California Republican, said on Tuesday that he's considering subpoenas to force the White House to hand over more details about its new political office. He has set a new deadline for June 3. Mr. Issa said the American people have a right to know if their tax dollars are being spent to support congressional campaigns. (Associated Press)

Issa may subpoena White House for political office details

The House's chief investigator said Tuesday he's considering subpoenas to force the White House to turn over more details about its new political office, which Republicans say may be running afoul of laws banning the use of taxpayer money for political campaigns. Published May 27, 2014

Medically retired Marine Lance Cpl. Kyle Carpenter will be awarded the Medal of Honor by President Obama on June 19. (Associated Press)

Awarding of Medal of Honor raises consistency questions

President Obama announced last week that he will award the Medal of Honor to retired Marine Lance Cpl. Kyle Carpenter for diving on a grenade to save a comrade — but the decision raises thorny questions about consistency, after other troops who dived on grenades have not been given the top military honor. Published May 25, 2014