Susan Crabtree

GOP senators want IG probe of Sebelius’ ‘Obamacare’ fundraising

Senior Republican senators on Thursday asked the Health and Human Services' inspector general to investigate Secretary Kathleen Sebelius' fundraising drive to promote the new health care law — a practice ethics specialists have said is anything from a legal stretch to a shakedown for cash.

May 30, 2013

Teaming up with Christie, Obama says Jersey shore ‘back in business’

President Obama took advantage of a lull in the uproar over the Internal Revenue Service, Justice Department and Benghazi scandals Tuesday to team up again with New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie for a high-profile tour of storm-recovery efforts on the Jersey shore.

May 28, 2013

No Moore: Obama flubs name of Oklahoma city devastated by tornado, calls it ‘Monroe’

During his visit to the Jersey Shore with New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie Tuesday, President Obama referred to the wrong city in Oklahoma devastated by a tornado last week.

May 28, 2013

Obama to Okla. tornado victims: ‘We have got your back’

President Obama spent Sunday afternoon in Oklahoma surveying the damage of last week's devastating tornadoes, thanking first responders and visiting with victims whose lives were upended by the storms.

May 26, 2013

Amid his own challenges, Obama calls on Navy grads to hold themselves accountable

President Obama called on newly minted officers of the Naval Academy Friday to exhibit the highest standards while serving their country, specifically exhorting them to hold themselves and others accountable when problems arise.

May 24, 2013

Aide involved in Benghazi talking points scrubbing promoted by Obama

In a bold move that demonstrates his commitment to an inner circle of close advisers — even those caught up in controversies, President Obama plans to nominate Victoria Nuland to assistant secretary for European and Eurasian affairs, the White House said Thursday.

May 24, 2013

Groups say IRS targeting has left a bitter taste

While some White House officials, including press secretary Jay Carney, have tried to minimize the impact of the IRS political-targeting scandal, saying the abuses ended in May 2012 and the practice is a thing of the past, victims say they are still feeling the impact.

May 22, 2013

Carney tries on new charm offensive

After enduring two weeks of withering criticism for his shifting narrative about the IRS targeting conservative groups and the White House's involvement in changing Benghazi talking points, White House spokesman Jay Carney made an obvious effort to try to curry a little favor with the White House press corps Wednesday.

May 22, 2013

White House plotted with Treasury on how to reveal IRS misdeeds

The White House revealed that it had even deeper knowledge of the IRS scandal than it first let on when press secretary Jay Carney said Tuesday that a top aide to President Obama talked with a Treasury Department official about how to break the news of the agency's improper targeting of conservative groups.

May 21, 2013

Obama’s vow to Oklahoma: We will be there ‘as long as it takes’ to recover from tornado

Calling the devastating tornadoes that leveled parts of Moore, Okla., Monday some of the most destructive in history, President Obama pledged to devote all the resources available for as long as needed to assist those who have lost homes and loved ones.

May 21, 2013

Carney: White House aides insulated Obama from IRS scandal

The White House admitted Monday that more officials — including top aides — knew about IRS abuses in targeting conservative groups than the administration had previously acknowledged.

May 20, 2013

Probes of journalists widen under Obama; reporter group calls it ‘overreaching dragnet’

Maybe most surprising in the Justice Department's subpoenas of phone records from The Associated Press was how wide the Obama administration cast its net: 20 phone lines, used by up to 100 reporters.

May 20, 2013

Seizure of AP phone records on Capitol Hill raises concerns about separation of powers

News organizations are convinced that the Obama administration trampled on freedom of the press when the Justice Department seized Associated Press phone records in pursuit of a government source who leaked details of a thwarted terrorist plot last year.

May 19, 2013

White House scandals turn enthusiastic supporters into critics

President Obama's election was a hopeful moment for civil rights advocates who thought he would usher in a golden era of government openness and respect for civil liberties, but some of the president's most enthusiastic supporters have expressed the harshest condemnation this week as revelations of multiple controversies involving intrusive government overreach have exploded onto the national stage.

May 16, 2013

Obama signals more firings to come over IRS scandal

A second senior official is leaving the Internal Revenue Service, as President Obama named a new acting agency chief while struggling to contain the fallout over the wrongful targeting of conservative groups.

May 16, 2013

White House supports media shield law amid AP records scandal

Trying to take a positive step in the face of two controversies over untoward government intrusion, the White House has called on Sen. Charles E. Schumer, New York Democrat, to reintroduce a bill that would give more protections to the press when it comes to keeping their sources confidential, a White House spokesman said Wednesday.

May 15, 2013

White House in full damage-control mode

In damage control on multiple fronts, the White House on Tuesday struggled to contain a series of escalating scandals that likely will test President Obama's willingness to hold administration officials accountable.

May 14, 2013

Britain’s Cameron pushes urgent response to Syria

British Prime Minister David Cameron took a more aggressive stance on Syria's civil war than President Obama Monday, signaling heightened international concerns about the Syrian opposition's fate.

May 13, 2013

Obama waits for probe before condemning IRS; Congress pounces

While President Obama said Monday that he is withholding judgment on the Internal Revenue Service's targeting of conservative groups, angry congressional leaders from both parties aren't waiting — they plan to begin hearings on the matter this week.

May 13, 2013

White House spokesman Carney faces his toughest challenge yet

Jay Carney has said he was looking for a new challenge when he made his decision to leave his job as the Washington bureau chief for Time magazine to become President Obama's White House swwpokesman.

May 12, 2013