Stephen Dinan

Michael Avenatti says Nike extortion charges are bogus, prosecutors being ‘played’

Newly indicted lawyer Michael Avenatti took to Twitter Tuesday morning to blast Nike, the shoe and sports clothing company, saying that it is trying to distract from its own criminal behavior by accusing him of extortion.

March 26, 2019

Tulsi Gabbard tells Democrats to move past Mueller

Rep. Tulsi Gabbard told supporters Monday it's time to put the special counsel's probe in the rear view and "move forward," saying voters are tired of the sniping.

March 25, 2019

Democrats demand public release of Mueller report

President Trump praised special counsel Robert Mueller's work Monday and said it "wouldn't bother me at all" if his report was released to the public, as Washington grappled with the fallout of the president's exoneration from accusations he conspired with Russia to subvert the 2016 election.

March 25, 2019

Marco Rubio constitutional amendment to set Supreme Court at nine justices

Senate Republicans introduced a constitutional amendment Monday to limit the Supreme Court to a total of nine justices, looking to foreclose the push by some Democrats to pack the court to overwhelm President Trump's picks.

March 25, 2019

Michael Avenatti arrested on extortion, fraud charges

Michael Avenatti tweeted Monday that he would soon hold a press conference to release damaging information about Nike. Instead, it was federal prosecutors who held a press conference Monday afternoon to charge Mr. Avenatti with attempting to extort more than $25 million from Nike.

March 25, 2019

Duke University to pay $112.5 million settlement for faked research

Duke University agreed to a deal Monday that will require it to repay the federal government $112.5 million to settle claims it falsified scientific research at taxpayers' expense.

March 25, 2019

Lindsey Graham: McCain’s staff to blame for Steele dossier abuses

Sen. Lindsey Graham said Monday that the late Sen. John McCain's staffers "took a piece of garbage and tried to go after Trump," but he said McCain himself wasn't involved in the shady business.

March 25, 2019

Lindsey Graham to turn post-Mueller focus to Christopher Steele, anti-Trump FBI employees

Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Lindsey Graham said Monday that he'll launch his own investigation into the 2016 election, but he'll focus on anti-Trump FBI employees and Democrats' payments to fund the Steele dossier.

March 25, 2019

Mike Enzi’s 2020 budget plan attempts to tame federal deficits

The Senate Budget Committee will take up Chairman Mike Enzi's 2020 budget proposal this week, as lawmakers hunt for new ways to turn around a bleak U.S. fiscal picture that just saw the government post its worst monthly deficit ever.

March 24, 2019

Robert Mueller clears Donald Trump in Russia probe, William Barr says

Special counsel Robert Mueller found no evidence that anyone connected with President Trump or his 2016 campaign conspired with Russia to subvert the election, according to a summary of his findings released Sunday by Attorney General William P. Barr.

March 24, 2019

Border Patrol rescues double-amputee illegal immigrant from middle of Rio Grande

Border Patrol agents had to rescue a double-amputee illegal immigrant in a wheelchair from an island in the middle of the Rio Grande this week, a day after pulling a deaf and dumb man from the water.

March 22, 2019

GOP says Mueller report should end ‘collusion’ claims

Congressional Democrats demanded immediate access Friday evening to special counsel Robert Mueller's investigative report, saying lawmakers must see his raw materials and conclusions to prevent mischief.

March 22, 2019

Robert Mueller delivers report to AG Barr, ending special counsel probe

Special counsel Robert Mueller delivered his report on the 2016 campaign to Attorney General William Barr on Friday, marking the end of a nearly two-year investigation that has monopolized the start of President Trump's tenure.

March 22, 2019

Donald Trump notches worst monthly deficit in U.S. history

February was the worst month in the history of the U.S. government, deficit-wise, setting an all-time record at $234 billion in the red, according to new figures released Friday.

March 22, 2019

Jerrold Nadler: Health official misled Congress over tracking illegal immigrant girls’ pregnancies

House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jerrold Nadler said Friday that a top health official appears to have misled his panel over his role in dealing with illegal immigrant girls, suggesting that the official was in fact tracking pregnancies and menstrual cycles.

March 22, 2019

Democrats’ demand for access to Russian translator denied

The White House on Thursday rejected congressional Democrats' demand for access to the translator present for President Trump's meetings with Russian President Vladimir Putin, leaving top committee chairmen fuming.

March 21, 2019

Robert Neller says Trump’s border focus hurting military’s combat readiness

The Marine Corps's commandant says President Trump's decision to deploy active-duty troops to the border and plans to siphon funds from military construction toward his border wall are sapping the corps' "combat readiness and solvency."

March 21, 2019

ICE releasing 1,000 illegal immigrant family members a day

Deportation officers are cutting loose more than 1,000 illegal immigrant family members a day, setting them free into border states as the surge of migrations overwhelms the government's ability to handle them, officials revealed Thursday.

March 21, 2019

Kushner, Ivanka Trump using secret texts, emails to do government business: House investigation

Trump son-in-law and top White House adviser Jared Kushner uses WhatsApp to conduct official government business, and his wife Ivanka Trump still does official work on her personal email account, running afoul of the law, House Democrats said Thursday.

March 21, 2019

Donald Trump-John McCain feud embarrassing, Republicans say

President Trump complained Wednesday that he was never thanked for allowing Sen. John McCain's funeral celebration, escalating a feud with the McCain family and drawing the ire of senators on Capitol Hill who told the president he was embarrassing himself.

March 20, 2019