Stephen Dinan
Articles by Stephen Dinan
IRS email reveals Lerner’s role in tax rule to restrain nonprofits
House Republicans for the first time Wednesday linked new IRS rules designed to clamp down on nonprofits with embattled former IRS employee Lois G. Lerner, saying her involvement taints the entire process and should force the tax agency to cancel its crackdown. Published February 5, 2014
House GOP creates Benghazi-probe website
House Republican leaders still balk at creating an independent investigative committee to look into the Benghazi terrorist attack, but on Wednesday they announced a new website that compiles all of the documents that have been released already. Published February 5, 2014
Republicans increasingly pessimistic on immigration bill in 2014
Conservative Republicans said Wednesday that they don't believe their chamber will tackle an immigration bill this year, saying that while they welcomed the House GOP leaders' principles as a start to a conversation, it's premature to try to pass a bill. Published February 5, 2014
Justice Dept. denies briefing Obama on IRS targeting
President Obama didn't check with the Justice Department before saying there was no corruption at the IRS, the department's deputy told Congress on Tuesday, ahead of several potential showdowns on Capitol Hill this week. Published February 4, 2014
Boehner says immigration still iffy for 2014
House Speaker John A. Boehner said Tuesday that he still hasn't decided whether to move forward with immigration bills this year, saying the timing remains a hot topic within the GOP. Published February 4, 2014
Obamacare will push 2 million workers out of labor market: CBO
Obamacare will push the equivalent of about 2 million workers out of the labor market by 2017 as employees decide either to work fewer hours or drop out altogether, according to the latest estimates Tuesday from the Congressional Budget Office. Published February 4, 2014
GOP principles present dilemma on illegals; Democrats split on legalization or full citizenship
House Republicans' new immigration principles may have complicated the politics of the issue for Democrats and immigrant rights advocates, who may end up having to choose between holding out for citizenship for most illegal immigrants or accepting a less-generous bill that could pass Congress this year. Published February 3, 2014
Obama’s promise of executive action leads to disappointment
President Obama may have raised expectations too high when he vowed last week to take unilateral action to get around Congress — since his speech he has been flooded with requests and complaints from some of his staunchest supporters wondering why he left their issues out of his executive to-do list. Published February 3, 2014
Embattled IRS plans employee bonuses for 2013 work
The IRS's new commissioner said Monday he has decided to pay out millions of dollars in employee bonuses, reversing a decision by his predecessor, who canceled them amid the sequester budget cuts and other belt-tightening moves last year. Published February 3, 2014
Justice bars lawyer from testifying before House panel in IRS probe
The Justice Department said Thursday it is refusing to let a key lawyer testify to the House oversight committee on the criminal investigation into the IRS, saying that to let her brief Congress could potentially skew its probe. Published January 30, 2014
House GOP wants legal status but no citizenship for illegal immigrants
House Republican leaders have ruled out a special pathway to citizenship but do support granting some form of legal status and work permits to most illegal immigrants, according to the broad set of principles GOP leaders released Thursday that pushed the issue back to the political forefront. Published January 30, 2014
Eric Holder to seek death penalty for Boston Marathon bomber Dzhokhar Tsarnaev
Federal prosecutors will seek the death penalty against Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, the younger of the two Chechen-Americans accused of carrying out last year’s Boston Marathon bombing, the Justice Department announced Thursday. Published January 30, 2014
Immigration officials warn of amnesty ‘overload’
The officers who would be charged with approving millions of applications from illegal immigrants for legal status warned Congress this week that they can't handle the workload, and said the change would guarantee criminals and others would be approved to remain in the country. Published January 30, 2014
GOP offers to cooperate with Obama on limited agenda
Responding to President Obama's State of the Union challenge, House Republican leaders on Thursday offered the White House a list of areas where they believe they can cooperate this year on legislation — focused chiefly on jobs and energy. Published January 30, 2014
GOP wants key Justice Dept. lawyer to testify in IRS scandal probe
The House oversight committee has asked a lawyer who's helping run the criminal investigation into IRS targeting of tea party groups to testify to Congress next week, seeking to find out where the investigation stands and whether her political leanings have undermined the probe. Published January 29, 2014
Eric Holder: Criminal charges still possible in IRS scandal
Attorney General Eric H. Holder Jr. said Wednesday that the Justice Department could still bring criminal charges against IRS officials for targeting tea party groups, contradicting press reports that said investigators have already concluded no crime was committed. Published January 29, 2014
Deport Bieber petition succeeds — earns votes for White House response
The petition asking the White House to deport Canadian pop singer Justin Bieber has been wildly successful, taking just six days to collect the 100,000 online signatures needed to earn a presidential response. Published January 29, 2014
Obama’s SOTU speech leaves environmentalists feeling cold
Despite promising to do an end-run around Congress to fight global warming in his Tuesday speech, President Obama is still taking heat from environmental activists for not going further and attacking all fossil fuels. Published January 29, 2014
Amid executive actions, Obama shuns order on deportations
President Obama vowed executive action on a host of issues Tuesday night, but left out one major step that immigration advocates had wanted to hear — halting deportations. Published January 29, 2014
White House’s ‘We the People’ petition site slows to a trickle
After a feverish postelection flurry of responses in late 2012, the White House has dramatically slowed down its answers to petitions the public has filed on President Obama's We the People website, leaving the project stumbling even as it turns into a forum for international communities to settle scores. Published January 28, 2014
