Stephen Dinan

This mailbox is full: Audit finds most IRS assistance hotlines leave taxpayers on hold

The hotlines for taxpayers to get assistance from the IRS' independent advocate service are a mess, according to an inspector general's audit Friday that found that fewer than 3% of the 76 hotlines were answered by a person.

August 2, 2024

‘Staged’: Left-wing conspiracies about Trump shooting persist against evidence

As most of the country expressed outrage that a shooter could come within an inch of killing a former president and current GOP nominee, left-wing corners of the internet rushed to watch old video of Donald Trump making appearances at pro wrestling matches.

August 1, 2024

DHS faulted for not posting ‘child-friendly decorations’ in border detention cells

Homeland Security has failed to provide adequate "child-friendly" decorations for its border holding cells for migrant children, according to an audit by the border agency's juvenile coordinator.

July 31, 2024

DOJ faulted for deploying law enforcement amid D.C.’s George Floyd riots

The Justice Department was too hasty in sending law enforcement to help clear protesters from parks and streets near the White House during the 2020 summer riots, the department's inspector general said in a Wednesday report.

July 31, 2024

Appeals court rules in favor of Texas’ floating border wall, though judges duck ‘invasion’ argument

A federal appeals court has delivered a win to Texas Gov. Greg Abbott, ruling in favor of the floating border wall that he ordered erected in the Rio Grande to try to shut down a hotspot for illegal immigration.

July 30, 2024

Trump campaign seeks more distance from Project 2025

Former President Donald Trump's campaign on Tuesday declared Project 2025 dead, as it sought to put distance between itself and a conservative plan that has turned into a political problem for the GOP.

July 30, 2024

J.D. Vance will visit southern border as GOP vice presidential nominee seeks to rebuke Harris

Republican vice presidential nominee J.D. Vance will visit the southern border this week as Republicans seek to tie Vice President Kamala Harris to the illegal immigration chaos of the past three years.

July 30, 2024

GSA delayed alerting federal office building tenants in Detroit of contaminated drinking water

The federal government knew one of its office buildings in Detroit had contaminated water but waited months to alert tenants, exposing them to unsafe levels of lead, copper and even Legionella, the bacteria that causes Legionnaires' disease.

July 30, 2024

Federal debt hits $35 trillion

The federal government's total debt now tops $35 trillion, the Treasury Department reported Monday, marking the latest grim milestone in a deteriorating budget picture.

July 29, 2024

‘Curses from God’: Church minister accused of forcing parishioners to help with pandemic fraud

Leaders of a Missouri church have been charged with a $1.2 million pandemic fraud scam in which prosecutors say they stole the identities of congregants and then applied for government loans in their name.

July 29, 2024

FBI says it will interview Trump as victim in assassination attempt

The FBI said Monday it does want to interview former President Donald Trump as the victim of the July 13 assassination attempt.

July 29, 2024

IRS keeps dozens of intentional tax cheats on payroll

Dozens of IRS employees who "willfully" cheated on their taxes remain working for the agency, and some were even hired back after their tax evasion, an inspector general reported Monday.

July 29, 2024

GOP announces bill to stop DHS from releasing terrorist migrants into the U.S.

Sen. Steve Daines is announcing new legislation Monday to stop Homeland Security from offering "parole" to migrants whom the government has flagged as terrorists or who are otherwise deemed "special interest" because of their origin and travel patterns.

July 29, 2024

Kamala Harris’ history of comparing DHS to racists, including equating ICE to the KKK

Vice President Kamala Harris is now the likely Democratic presidential candidate, and her record on immigration and border security is shaping up as a potential liability.

July 28, 2024

FBI director reopens old wounds as bureau asks whether Trump was hit with bullet

The FBI spent years trying to repair damage from its zealous pursuit of Donald Trump, but then Director Christopher A. Wray suggested that a would-be assassin's bullet didn't actually strike Mr. Trump.

July 28, 2024

FBI acknowledges Trump was hit by a bullet in assassination attempt

The FBI said Friday that former President Donald Trump was hit by the would-be assassin's bullet, as the bureau moved to clean up Director Christopher A. Wray's controversial testimony earlier this week questioning Mr. Trump's account.

July 26, 2024

FBI hasn’t interviewed Trump about assassination attempt

The FBI has yet to interview former President Donald Trump about the attempted assassination that nearly cost him his life, his campaign told The Washington Times.

July 26, 2024

FBI director in hot water after suggesting Trump wasn’t hit by a bullet

A congressman who has served as former President Donald Trump's doctor said Friday that Mr. Trump's ear was in fact struck by a bullet, not shrapnel or glass.

July 26, 2024

Inspector general faults William Barr for handling of 2020 ballot case

The Justice Department's inspector general delivered a scolding this week to former Attorney General William P. Barr and one of his U.S. attorneys, saying they stretched the rules in rushing to disclose information about an investigation into ballot irregularities in the run-up to the 2020 election.

July 26, 2024

Biden claims credit for low border encounters in critical political moment for his vice president

Homeland Security says it's now apprehending fewer than 1,800 illegal immigrants a day sneaking in across the southern border and President Biden is claiming credit, saying his get-tough changes last month have largely solved the problem.

July 25, 2024