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Articles by Stephen Dinan

**FILE** Former IRS official Lois Lerner speaks on Capitol Hill in Washington on March 5, 2014, during the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee hearing on the the agency's targeting of tea party groups, where she invoked her constitutional right not to incriminate herself. (Associated Press)

House votes to find IRS’s Lois Lerner in contempt of Congress

Nearly a year to the day after she revealed the IRS gave inappropriate scrutiny to some groups applying for tax-exempt status, the House voted Wednesday to declare Lois G. Lerner in contempt of Congress for blocking its investigation, sending her case to the legal system.

May 7, 2014
** FILE ** In this Dec. 17, 2013, file photo, Sen. Tom Coburn, R-Okla., speaks on Capitol Hill in Washington. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh, File)

Sequestration’s toll: One bureaucrat loses job

Only one employee in the entire federal government lost a job due to sequestration, according to a government audit that found the only permanent cut came at the U.S. Parole Commission, which eliminated one position.

May 7, 2014
** FILE ** House Speaker John A. Boehner. (Associated Press)

John Boehner gives Benghazi committee broad powers

House Speaker John A. Boehner laid out details of his proposed Benghazi investigative committee Tuesday night, calling for a 7-5 split between Republicans and Democrats — drawing a stern response from Democrats who said that is unfair and taints the investigation from the start.

May 7, 2014
** FILE ** Rep. Elijah Cummings, Maryland Democrat. (Associated Press)

IRS employees deny tea party bias

The IRS employees involved in improperly targeting tea party groups vehemently denied political bias played a part in their actions, and specifically defended Lois G. Lerner, according to a report released by House Democrats on Tuesday.

May 6, 2014
House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi of Calif. speaks to reporters outside the West Wing of the White House in Washington, Tuesday, April 1, 2014, following her lunch with President Barack Obama. Pelosi was asked several questions about the Affordable Care Act. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh)

Pelosi demands Benghazi panel be equally divided

House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi said Tuesday that the House's new investigative committee looking into the 2012 Benghazi terrorist attacks must be equally divided between Democrats and Republicans — an aggressive demand that could dent the investigation before it even gets rolling.

May 6, 2014
Vice President Joe Biden addresses the Motion Picture Association of America's creativity conference at the Newseum in Washington, Friday, May 2, 2014.  (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)

Biden retreats: Illegal immigrants aren’t ‘citizens’

Vice President Joseph R. Biden on Monday backed away from his claim earlier this year that illegal immigrants "are already American citizens," saying that while he acknowledges they aren't actually citizens, they are still Americans.

May 5, 2014
House Speaker John Boehner of Ohio speaking on Capitol Hill in Washington. Boehner says he'll establish select House committee to investigate Benghazi attack.  (AP Photo, File)

House GOP probes on IRS, Benghazi bring peril for Dems

With votes looming to create a special committee to investigate the Benghazi attacks, hold former IRS official Lois G. Lerner in contempt of Congress and demand a special counsel to look into the IRS, House Republicans have created a political minefield for Democrats in tough re-election races.

May 4, 2014
US Secretary of State John Kerry speaks during a press conference at the US embassy in Juba, South Sudan, Friday May 2, 2014. Kerry, landing in the capital Juba on Friday, carried the threat of U.S. sanctions against prominent South Sudanese leaders if the rampant violence doesn't stop. But more than anything, he sought to compel authorities on both sides of the fight to put aside personal and tribal animosities for the good of a nation that declared independence three years ago to escape decades of war. (AP Photo/Saul Loeb, Pool)

John Kerry subpoenaed by House on Benghazi

The House has subpoenaed Secretary of State John F. Kerry to force him to answer questions about how his department has handled questions about the Benghazi terrorist attack.

May 2, 2014
Secretary of State John Kerry speaks to members of the media at the State Department in Washington, Tuesday, April 29, 2014, during his meeting with Egyptian Foreign Minister Nabil Fahmy.  (AP Photo)

Boehner: Kerry must answer for concealing key Benghazi email

House Speaker John A. Boehner on Thursday demanded that Secretary of State John F. Kerry testify to Congress about why his department hid a key email that seems to show the White House tainted the talking points following the 2012 Benghazi terrorist attack.

May 1, 2014
**FILE** Libyan civilians celebrate the raiding of Ansar al-Shariah Brigades compound in Benghazi, Libya, on Sept. 21, 2012, after hundreds of Libyans, military and police raided the Brigades base. (Associated Press)

General: White House should have known Benghazi was terrorist attack

An Air Force brigadier general who was running intelligence at the U.S. African command the night of the Benghazi attacks said Thursday they knew immediately that the assault was not a response to an anti-Islamic video, and said that the White House either wasn't in the know or else was distorting that information.

May 1, 2014
** FILE ** This March 26, 2014, file photo shows House Oversight Committee Chairman Rep. Darrell Issa, R-Calif., on Capitol Hill in Washington. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite, File)

House GOP: Obama withholding Benghazi email is ‘criminal’

House Republicans accused the Obama administration Thursday of "perhaps criminal" behavior for having withheld for months key email that sheds light on how the administration framed its post-Benghazi talking points, potentially violating a congressional subpoena.

May 1, 2014
"Let's get out of the way, make sure we empower the VA physicians to do their job. Our veterans deserve that from us," said Rep. Dana Rohrabacher, California Republican. (Associated Press)

House shoots down medical marijuana for veterans

The House late Wednesday rejected an effort to free up federal doctors to be able to recommend medicinal use of marijuana to their patients, with opponents saying that as long as the drug remains illegal under federal law, employees paid for by taxpayer money shouldn't be recommending it.

April 30, 2014