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Ben Wolfgang

Ben Wolfgang

bwolfgang@washingtontimes.com

Ben Wolfgang is a national security correspondent at The Washington Times, a senior member of its Threat Status team, and the host and producer of the award-winning Threat Status Podcast. Ben covers national security, foreign policy, military affairs, the defense industry and the rapidly evolving landscape of military technology.
A Pennsylvania native, he joined The Washington Times in 2011 after serving as a political reporter at The Republican-Herald in Pottsville, Pa. Over the course of his career, Ben has covered the White House, Congress, and four presidential campaigns.
His reporting has earned recognition from some of journalism's most respected organizations, including the Virginia Press Association and the Society of Professional Journalists' Washington, D.C. Chapter, among other honors.
Ben has interviewed heads of state, chairmen of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, senior military commanders, cabinet secretaries, senior government officials, and the CEOs of many of the nation's largest and most influential defense companies.
Ben is a frequent guest on broadcast media, with appearances on C-SPAN, the Sirius XM POTUS channel, and other outlets.
He can be reached at bwolfgang@washingtontimes.com.

Articles by Ben Wolfgang

Rep. John Lewis, Georgia Democrat (Associated Press file photo)

Civil rights leaders slam Obama on judicial picks

The Obama administration is under fire from powerful House Democrats and some in the civil rights community for its recent picks to fill four judicial vacancies on Georgia's Northern District federal bench.

December 23, 2013
** FILE ** In this Wednesday, Dec. 18, 2013, file photo, President Barack Obama speaks to the media as he and first lady Michelle Obama meet with a group of mothers in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster, File)

Obama sends 45 service members to South Sudan

Amid growing chaos in South Sudan, President Obama has deployed military forces to that country to protect the U.S. embassy and other American assets, he told congressional leaders in a letter Thursday night.

December 19, 2013
White House press secretary Jay Carney speaks during the daily press briefing at the White House on Wednesday, Dec. 18, 2013 in Washington. Carney answered questions about a Congressional budget deal. (AP Photo/ Evan Vucci)

White House says it’s open to 45 of panel’s proposed 46 NSA changes

A long-awaited review of U.S. mass surveillance and data-collection programs produced a laundry list of recommendations for how the Obama administration should clean up its intelligence-gathering efforts to better protect sensitive information and the privacy of American citizens.

December 19, 2013
Russian President Vladimir Putin reacts during a news conference after meeting with his Ukrainian counterpart Viktor Yanukovych in Moscow on Tuesday, Dec. 17, 2013.  Russian President Vladimir Putin says Moscow has agreed to sharply cut the price for its natural gas supplies to Ukraine and will buy $15 billion worth of Ukrainian government bonds, but says there was no discussion about Ukraine joining a free trade pact of three ex-Soviet nations. (AP Photo/Ivan Sekretarev)

White House hints Olympic envoys a shot at Putin over gay rights

With a wink and a nod, the White House on Wednesday admitted it's sending a message to Russian President Vladimir Putin by choosing openly gay athletes to represent the U.S. at February's Olympic Winter Games opening ceremony in Sochi.

December 18, 2013
White House press secretary Jay Carney listens to a question during the daily press briefing at the White House in Washington, Tuesday, Dec. 17, 2013. Carney answered questions about a federal judge that made headlines this week by declaring that the National Security Agency's bulk collection of millions of Americans' telephone records is likely unconstitutional. (AP Photo/ Evan Vucci)

Under pressure, White House to unveil key surveillance report

In a change of course, the White House on Wednesday afternoon will publicly release an internal report on government surveillance efforts, a highly anticipated document that also will include recommendations for how the federal government can best balance its intelligence-gathering efforts with Americans' right to privacy.

December 18, 2013
**FILE** Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Patrick Leahy (center), Vermont Democrat, speaks with committee members and Democratic Sens. Charles Schumer (right) of New York and Dianne Feinstein of California on Capitol Hill in Washington on April 22, 2013, during the committee's hearing on immigration reform. (Associated Press)

Top Democrats reject court ruling over NSA spying on Americans

Top Democrats pushed back Tuesday against a federal judge's ruling that the NSA's phone-records collection program violates privacy rights, asking for higher courts to quickly get involved and bring legal certainty to the murky world of intelligence gathering.

December 17, 2013
President Barack Obama meets with technology executives in the Roosevelt Room of the White House in Washington,Tuesday, Dec. 17, 2013. From left are, Mark Pincus, founder, Chief Product Officer & Chairman, Zynga,  Marissa Mayer, President and CEO, Yahoo!, and Obama. (AP Photo/ Evan Vucci)

Apple, Google, Facebook tell Obama: Rein in government snooping

The nation's leading technology companies took their concerns over government surveillance directly to the source Tuesday, pressing President Obama to rein in what is widely viewed as excessive and intrusive data-collection and snooping.

December 17, 2013
ILLUSTRATION This image released by Netflix shows Kevin Spacey as U.S. Congressman Frank Underwood in a scene from the Netflix original series, "House of Cards." Spacey was nominated for an Emmy Award for best actor in a drama series on, Thursday July 18, 2013. (AP Photo/Netflix, Melinda Sue Gordon) ** FILE **

Obama envious of ‘House of Cards’

President Obama, while talking to a Netflix executive, says he wishes Washington were as "ruthlessly efficient" as portrayed on network's show "House of Cards."

December 17, 2013
**FILE** President Obama pauses as he speaks about the new health care law during a White House Youth Summit on Dec. 4, 2013, in the South Court Auditorium in the Eisenhower Executive Office Building on the White House complex in Washington. Americans who already have health insurance are blaming President Barack Obama's health care overhaul for their rising premiums and deductibles, and overall 3 in 4 say the rollout of coverage for the uninsured has gone poorly. (Associated Press)

Obama administration refuses to negotiate on debt ceiling increase

Despite the recent bipartisan breakthrough on the budget, the White House insisted Monday it will not negotiate with congressional Republicans on the next debt ceiling increase and will demand an unconditional increase before the government hits its borrowing limit early next year.

December 16, 2013
** FILE ** This photo taken Dec. 11, 2013, shows House Budget Committee Chairman Rep. Paul Ryan, R-Wis., right, accompanied by House Speaker John Boehner of Ohio speaking during a news conference on Capitol Hill in Washington. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)

White House: Once again, no negotiations on debt ceiling

With the threat of a government shutdown off the table for the next two years, attention now has turned to another looming fight over the nation's debt ceiling — and the White House has no interest in negotiating with Republicans as that limit approaches.

December 16, 2013