Stephen Dinan

FBI nabs Eric Conn, Social Security scam leader, in Honduras

The man who ran the largest Social Security fraud in American history has been captured in Honduras after six months on the run, a Honduran newspaper reported Monday.

December 4, 2017

Homeland Security officials say they botched 900 DACA applications

The Trump administration erroneously rejected about 900 applications sent in by Dreamers to renew their status under the Obama-era Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals deportation amnesty, Homeland Security officials told The Washington Times.

December 3, 2017

Puerto Rico gives Christmas bonuses after asking for hurricane recovery funds

Puerto Rico Gov. Ricardo Rossello Nevares last month asked federal taxpayers to shell out $94 billion to pay for the territory's recovery from Hurricane Maria -- then turned around and paid out about $100 million in Christmas bonuses to government employees on the island.

December 3, 2017

GOP sets up DACA shutdown showdown with short-term spending bill

Congressional Republicans announced a short-term spending bill Saturday to keep the government open through Dec. 22, hoping to head off a looming shutdown next week with a two-week reprieve.

December 2, 2017

Pelosi tells second Democrat to quit amid sexual harassment allegation

House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi called for yet another one of her Democratic colleagues to resign after allegations of sexual harassment surfaced Friday against Rep. Ruben Kihuen.

December 2, 2017

Judge overturns Trump DHS, restores Obama-era ‘parole’ for foreign entrepreneurs

A federal judge Friday overturned the Trump administration's attempt to derail an Obama-era effort to entice foreign entrepreneurs to come to the U.S., saying Homeland Security officials failed to follow the law.

December 1, 2017

DOJ demands custody of Jose Inez Garcia Zarate, Kate Steinle killer

The Trump administration moved Friday to claim custody of the illegal immigrant who killed Kate Steinle, saying he violated the terms of his probation and should be sent back to federal prison.

December 1, 2017

Trump backs Tillerson, calls reports of ouster ‘fake’

President Trump on Friday shot down speculation that he is looking to oust Secretary of State Rex Tillerson, calling a spate of breathless reports this week fake news.

December 1, 2017

Congress’s compliance office paid just one sexual harassment claim in past five years

Congress's Office of Compliance paid out a settlement on one sexual harassment complaint over the past five years, costing taxpayers $84,000, according to data released Friday.

December 1, 2017

House panel approves bill to crack down on Obama-era ‘unmasking’

The House intelligence committee approved a bill Friday to crack down on political "unmasking," with Republicans saying the Obama administration abused foreign intelligence to embarrass private citizens and insisting the practice had to stop.

December 1, 2017

Lois Lerner cites years-old threats to keep her IRS activities secret

The threats that former IRS senior executive Lois G. Lerner says are serious enough to keep her court depositions forever secret date back to 2014, and she hasn't shown any new threats, according to new court documents filed late Thursday.

December 1, 2017

Democrats want immigration fix in spending bill

Bumping up against another shutdown deadline, Congress will have to pass a short-term spending bill next week and push big decisions into next year, lawmakers said Thursday — though Democrats said they may still force a shutdown fight over new rights for illegal immigrants.

November 30, 2017

Jeff Sessions: Rethink for sanctuary cities after Kate Steinle verdict

Attorney General Jeff Sessions said that blame for Kate Steinle's death lay at the feet of San Francisco, and he urged sanctuary cities across the country to rethink their policies in the wake of Thursday's verdict in the trial of her illegal immigrant killer.

November 30, 2017

Jose Garcia Zarate Not guilty of homicide charges Kate Steinle shooting

A California jury acquitted the illegal immigrant who killed Kate Steinle of murder Thursday but found him guilty of lesser gun charges in a case that helped ignite a new national debate over sanctuary cities and border policy.

November 30, 2017

Govt. to breach debt limit again by April

The federal government will run out of borrowing space in late March or early April next year, the Congressional Budget Office said Thursday.

November 30, 2017

Border Patrol agent kills migrant who tried to steal partner’s gun

An illegal immigrant tried to wrestle a Border Patrol agent's gun away then was shot and killed by the agent's partner, officials said Thursday, in the latest of a growing series of assaults on agents.

November 30, 2017

Paul Ryan says Dems blew DACA negotiations by skipping Trump meeting

House Speaker Paul D. Ryan said Thursday that Democrats squandered their ability to demand a so-called "DACA fix" as part of the year-end spending bill when their leaders refused to show up for a meeting with President Trump this week to conduct negotiations.

November 30, 2017

Nancy Pelosi tells John Conyers to resign

House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi turned against Rep. John Conyers Jr. on Thursday and told him to quit Congress immediately, as sexual harassment allegations continued to build against the chamber's longest-serving member.

November 30, 2017

DHS says country facing ‘surge’ of terrorism as threat expands

The U.S. is seeing a terrorist "surge" as the nature of the threat turns from large-scale operations to "do-it-yourself" attacks inspired online, acting Homeland Security Secretary Elaine Duke told Congress on Thursday.

November 30, 2017

Bill would reauthorize FISA Section 702 for 4 years

The House intelligence committee announced a bill Wednesday to renew the government's chief foreign intelligence snooping program with some moderate changes, cutting a middle ground between civil liberties advocates who want major changes and surveillance hawks who say it's fine as-is.

November 29, 2017