Stephen Dinan

AG Garland distances himself from FBI’s memo, says that ‘Catholics are not extremists’

Attorney General Merrick Garland distanced himself Wednesday from an FBI memo labeling some practicing Catholics as extremists who deserve scrutiny, saying he was "appalled" by the insinuation.

September 20, 2023

‘We will not be intimidated,’ defiant Garland tells Congress

Attorney General Merrick Garland on Wednesday told Congress he doesn't take orders from President Biden or Congress as he defended his department's seemingly disparate handling of investigations into Hunter Biden and former President Donald Trump.

September 20, 2023

Five questions Merrick Garland must answer when he faces House Judiciary Committee

A House committee will question Attorney General Merrick Garland on Wednesday at a hearing led by one of his staunchest critics: Judiciary Committee Chairman Jim Jordan.

September 19, 2023

Traumatized children taken from parents; migrant surge forces splits in Border Patrol facilities

Homeland Security is separating children from their families in Border Patrol facilities in Texas, saying the surge of migrants is too overwhelming to accommodate them all.

September 19, 2023

Fate of Elizabeth Warren’s politically immune bureau rests with Supreme Court

The question before the justices is whether Congress can relinquish its power of the purse to another branch of government.

September 18, 2023

Surge halts screenings of terrorism suspects; border officers lack time, tools

The number of illegal immigrant terrorism suspects -- people whose names trigger the government's terrorism watchlist -- is breaking records, igniting a debate on just how real the threat of a terrorist encroachment at the southern border is.

September 17, 2023

IRS to hire 3,700 new employees to audit the wealthy

The IRS said Friday it has launched a nationwide search to recruit 3,700 new employees that the tax agency said it wants to use to expand audits on the country's wealthiest taxpayers.

September 15, 2023

IRS shuts down pandemic tax credit after being overrun with fraud

The IRS shut down a pandemic-era tax credit program on Thursday, saying it had become too much of a target for scammers.

September 14, 2023

After gun charges brought to Hunter Biden, questions swirl over second firearm from laptop footage

Video from his abandoned laptop computer appears to show a naked Hunter Biden holding a semi-automatic pistol, with the hammer cocked and his finger on the trigger. That is markedly different from the Colt revolver that resulted in charges against Mr. Biden.

September 14, 2023

Supreme Court halts ruling that blocked White House pressure on social media companies

The Supreme Court halted a court ruling Thursday that had ordered the White House and FBI to stop coercing social media companies to erase content the government didn't like.

September 14, 2023

Federal judge rules Biden’s revised DACA policy illegal

A federal judge ruled Wednesday against President Biden's attempt to preserve and update the Obama-era DACA deportation amnesty for illegal immigrant "Dreamers," leaving hundreds of thousands of them to worry about their status.

September 13, 2023

Pandemic budget honeymoon disappears as federal spending surges

The real federal budget deficit is on track to double this year, according to new projections that puncture hopes of a post-pandemic fiscal honeymoon and indicate rough fiscal seas ahead.

September 13, 2023

GOP senators propose $11 minimum wage coupled with immigration restriction

Republican senators announced legislation Wednesday to gradually raise the national minimum wage to $11, but tied it to requiring businesses to use E-Verify, a tool that would help prevent illegal immigrants from taking jobs.

September 13, 2023

Fraudsters stole up to $135 billion in unemployment benefits during pandemic

Fraudsters stole up to $135 billion in unemployment benefits during the coronavirus pandemic, the Government Accountability Office reported Tuesday, delivering the most thorough government examination of the problem to date.

September 12, 2023

U.N. calls U.S.-Mexico border world’s deadliest; lax Biden rules lure migrants into danger

The United Nations on Tuesday declared the U.S.-Mexico border the most lethal land crossing in the world, adding another grim superlative to President Biden's immigration record.

September 12, 2023

Congressman says Maryland sheriff is too ‘anti-immigrant’ to work with ICE

A Maryland congressman is demanding that Homeland Security cancel its agreement that allows the Frederick County Sheriff's Office to enforce immigration laws, saying the government should punish the sheriff for stoking "hatred and fear of immigrants."

September 12, 2023

House committee warns staffers as crime rates soar in nation’s capital

House Republicans warned congressional staff Monday about the spike in violent crime in Washington D.C., urging those who work on Capitol Hill to take steps to ensure they are safe.

September 11, 2023

DHS lost track of 177,000 illegal immigrants from border surge, inspector general says

Nearly 20% of newly arrived migrants give bogus addresses to the Border Patrol when they are arrested, an inspector general reported Monday, making it nearly impossible to track them as they spread through the U.S. and confounding efforts to deport them later.

September 11, 2023

Life on the run from Taliban ‘nightmarish’ for allies left behind in Afghanistan

Mohammad Firoz is living in Kabul, but he says it's not much of a life anymore. He has effectively been on the run for two years, since the fall of the Afghan government and the U.S. military withdrawal stranded him in a sea of enemies.

September 10, 2023

Appeals court slams White House for social media censorship but limits injunction

A federal appeals court ruled Friday that the White House and the FBI both likely engaged in unconstitutional campaigns to pressure social media companies to censor content the administration disliked, and the judges ordered them to stop using coercive tactics against the tech companies.

September 8, 2023