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Articles by Stephen Dinan

IRS Commissioner John Koskinen answers to the House Oversight Committee at the Capitol in Washington on March 26, 2014, in the panel's continuing probe of whether tea party groups were improperly targeted for increased scrutiny by the government's tax agency. (Associated Press) **FILE**

IRS promises to stop erasing hard drives

The IRS has put an emergency stay on deleting its computer hard drives and devices such as BlackBerrys, with the commissioner saying in a letter to Congress on Wednesday that the agency goofed in deleting a key hard drive last year that was supposed to be preserved as part of a court case.

February 3, 2016
Rubens

VA vows to punish employees after judges void sanctions

The VA insisted Tuesday it will still find a way to punish two employees accused of bilking the government out of hundreds of thousands of dollars in bonuses after federal judges ruled that the department bungled its case against them, restored their full salaries and awarded them backpay.

February 2, 2016
Homeland Security Secretary Jeh Johnson called the drop "encouraging," but said his department must keep up the pressure on illegal immigrants in order to prevent a relapse. (Associated Press)

Illegal immigrant border surge subsides in January

The tide of illegal immigrant families and unaccompanied children receded in January and Homeland Security claimed a partial victory Tuesday, saying stepped up enforcement has gotten the message back to Central Americans that they shouldn't try to make the trip north.

February 2, 2016
President Barack Obama waves as he plays plays golf on the first hole at Farm Neck Golf Club in Oak Bluffs, Mass., on Martha's Vineyard, Saturday, Aug. 15, 2015. Obama and his family vacation every August on Martha's Vineyard, and he's been spending most of this year's two-week trip on the golf course, at the beach and dining at the island's upscale restaurants.(AP Photo/Susan Walsh)

Obama’s presidency now effectively over

In the past week he has delivered a major speech to fellow Democrats, announced a new retirement savings plan and computer science initiative -- heck, he has even vowed a billion-dollar push to cure cancer. But President Obama just can't catch a break.

February 1, 2016
President Barack Obama speaks in the South Court Auditorium in the Eisenhower Executive Office Building on the White House complex in Washington, Friday, Jan. 29, 2016, to commemorate the 7th Anniversary of the Signing of the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster)

Federal debt hits $19 trillion; new record set

The federal government is now officially $19 trillion in debt, according to the latest figures released by the Treasury Department Monday that show the Obama administration crossed that ignominious line late last week.

February 1, 2016
Juan Francisco Lopez-Sanchez is led into the courtroom by San Francisco Public Defender Jeff Adachi for his arraignment at the Hall of Justice in San Francisco on July 7. After a widespread backlash to immigration enforcement in the country’s jails, local sheriffs’ agencies are coming up with new ways to help federal government efforts to ensure that immigrants with serious criminal convictions aren’t released back onto U.S. streets. (Associated Press)

John Culberson, GOP chairman: Sanctuary cities to face punishment in 2016

The House Republican in charge of writing the Justice Department's budget vowed Monday that this will be the year Congress punishes sanctuary cities, insisting he'll use his powers as chairman to make the Obama administration strip grant money from localities that refuse to cooperate with immigration agents.

February 1, 2016
President Barack Obama smiles during his State of the Union address to a joint session of Congress on Capitol Hill in Washington, Tuesday, Jan. 12, 2016. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci, Pool)

Obama misled Congress on debt limit: House report

The government could have continued to pay Social Security and other critical payments in the event it reached its debt limit, but the Obama administration intentionally misled Congress about that to force Republicans to hike the borrowing ceiling, a House panel said Monday, citing internal Treasury Department documents.

February 1, 2016
U.S. presidential contender Donald Trump poses for the media during the third day of the Women's British Open golf championship on his Turnberry golf course in Turnberry, Scotland, on Aug. 1, 2015. (Associated Press) **FILE**

Donald Trump spends $400,000 on ‘Make America Great’ hats

Donald Trump spent more than $400,000 in the last three months to manufacture his iconic "Make America Great Again" hats, and another $450,000 on signature drives to make sure he's met the requirements to get on the ballots in this year's GOP primaries.

February 1, 2016
Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz, Democratic National Committee Chair (Associated Press) **FILE**

Democratic National Committee to sanction more debates

Left with little choice, Democratic National Committee Chairwoman Debbie Wasserman Schultz caved Sunday and agreed to sanction more presidential debates, attempting to play catch-up with the candidates who were already well ahead of them.

January 31, 2016
Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton pauses while speaking at a rally at the Steyer Opera House at Hotel Winneshiek in Decorah, Iowa, Tuesday, Jan. 26, 2016. (AP Photo/Andrew Harnik)

More than 25 percent of new Clinton emails are classified

More than one in four of the emails the State Department released late Friday from former Secretary Hillary Clinton's cache of messages were deemed classified or secret, marking a massive hike in the scope of potential wrongdoing the Democratic presidential frontrunner engaged in during her time in office.

January 29, 2016
This final batch of Hillary Clinton's emails is expected to contain some of the most controversial emails — the ones that have required the most extensive review by other agencies. The release will likely include a high number of messages with information now marked classified. (Associated Press)

Hillary Clinton emails: State Department refuses to investigate delay

The State Department is so tardy on former Secretary Hillary Clinton's emails that it still hasn't sent all of them out for security and privacy reviews by other agencies, the Obama administration admitted late Thursday, just hours before it is supposed to release all of them to the public.

January 28, 2016
Republican presidential candidates Rand Paul, Chris Christie, Ben Carson, Ted Cruz, Marco Rubio, Jeb Bush and John Kasich stand for a group photo before the Republican debate Thursday in Des Moines, Iowa. (Associated Press)

Donald Trump’s absence dominates Republican debate

Donald Trump wasn't on the stage, but he was still the dominant figure in Iowa on Thursday night as the rest of the Republican presidential field debated on Fox News and the billionaire businessman boycotted, instead drawing thousands of people to an event across town raising money for veterans.

January 28, 2016