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David Sherfinski

dsherfinski@washingtontimes.com

David Sherfinski covered politics for The Washington Times.

Articles by David Sherfinski

Kenneth T. Cuccinelli II says his Democratic opponent, Terry McAuliffe, would follow President Obama’s policies on energy issues and would approve regulations that would close coal plants. (Andrew Harnik/The Washington Times)

Cuccinelli unworried by legal probes of Va. governor

Neither embezzlement charges against Virginia's former Executive Mansion chef nor ongoing federal and state investigations into Gov. Bob McDonnell's gift disclosures will be enough to weigh down the gubernatorial campaign of Virginia Attorney General Kenneth T. Cuccinelli II, political observers say.

July 8, 2013
Giffords

Gabrielle Giffords ends 7-state tour to restart talks on gun limits

Advocates for tighter gun-purchase background checks are hopeful the Senate will take another shot at a measure before year's end, but seven months after the Connecticut school shootings, it's unclear whether Democratic leaders will make their members take another politically difficult vote ahead of the 2014 midterms.

July 7, 2013
"It's clear what he is, an old apparatchik KGB colonel, and he's not interested in better relations with the United States. ... We've got to have a much more realistic approach to Russia and Putin in order to comport with the realities of their relations with us."

Russian official says Snowden should go to Venezuela

A top Russian official suggested Sunday that National Security Agency leaker Edward Snowden should accept Venezuela's offer of asylum, while American officials said that any such granting of a safe haven would be taken as a direct swipe against the United States.

July 7, 2013
Then-IRS official Lois Lerner is sworn in on Capitol Hill in Washington on May 22, 2013, before the House Oversight Committee hearing to investigate the extra scrutiny IRS gave to tea party and other conservative groups that applied for tax-exempt status. Lerner told the committee she did nothing wrong and then invoked her constitutional right to not answer lawmakers' questions. (Associated Press) ** FILE **

IRS’s Lerner will testify if granted immunity: attorney

The House oversight committee is treading cautiously as it decides how to move ahead with its investigation into the Internal Revenue Service's targeting of conservative groups, saying it will consider trading immunity to Lois Lerner in exchange for testimony about how her bureau singled out tea party groups' nonprofit status applications for extra scrutiny.

July 3, 2013
A man examines a handgun at the Annapolis Gun Show in March. June was the first month since October 2011 to see a year-over-year decrease in the total number of FBI instant background checks. (Andrew Harnik/The Washington Times)

Gun-purchase surge levels off as concerns fade; Newtown triggered uptick

After hitting an all-time high in December, background checks run through the FBI's national instant check system have declined year-over-year for the first time since October 2011 as fervor after December's Connecticut school shooting and the government's push for new gun controls appears to be waning.

July 2, 2013
Sen. Tom Coburn, Oklahoma Republican (Associated Press)

Coburn: Hundreds of IRS employees work full-time on labor union business

The Internal Revenue Service spends millions of dollars a year for 200 employees who actually work full-time on labor-union business even as it furloughs employees and cuts taxpayer advice services under the budget sequester, Congress' chief waste watcher said in a new letter to the tax agency.

July 2, 2013
Then-IRS official Lois Lerner is sworn in on Capitol Hill in Washington on May 22, 2013, before the House Oversight Committee hearing to investigate the extra scrutiny IRS gave to tea party and other conservative groups that applied for tax-exempt status. Lerner told the committee she did nothing wrong and then invoked her constitutional right to not answer lawmakers' questions. (Associated Press) ** FILE **

House committee: IRS official waived rights in denying wrongdoing

The House Oversight and Government Reform Committee approved a resolution Friday asserting that the woman at the center of the IRS scandal waived her Fifth Amendment rights against self-incrimination when she came before the committee last month.

June 28, 2013