Rep. Tom Cole: Okla. Needs Help, Not a Funding Battle
Bill Clark/CQ Roll Call(OKLAHOMA CITY) — Republican Rep. Tom Cole, whose district took a direct hit from a powerful tornado on Monday, said the residents of the tornado-ravaged towns in Oklahoma need help, not a political battle over funding in Washin…
Gay Marriage Amendment Withdrawn from Immigration Bill Debate
iStockphoto/Thinktsock(WASHINGTON) — The Senate “Gang of Eight” immigration reform bill survived perhaps its toughest challenge late in the day, as the Senate Judiciary Committee refused to approve an amendment that would have allowed gay…
Treasury Secretary Jack Lew Defends Handling of IRS Scandal
Official White House Photo by Pete Souza(WASHINGTON) — Treasury Secretary Jack Lew called the unfair scrutiny the Internal Revenue Service gave some tea party groups “outrageous methods,” adding that while the “conduct was not politi…
IRS Official Lois Lerner to Take the Fifth
Comstock Images/Thinkstock(WASHINGTON) — Lois Lerner, the top IRS official who is at the center of the controversy for the targeting of tea party and other conservative groups, will refuse to answer questions at a congressional hearing Wednesday and i…
IRS ‘Blemish’ Prompts Scorn from Unappeased Senators
Win McNamee/Getty Images(WASHINGTON) — Douglas Shulman, the former commissioner of the Internal Revenue Service, said Tuesday he was “dismayed and saddened” that his agency had improperly targeted conservative groups, but declined to offer…
First Conservative Group Files Suit Against IRS
Hemera/Thinkstock(WASHINGTON) — The first group that claims they were unfairly scrutinized by the Internal Revenue Service filed suit Tuesday against the agency in federal court in Washington, D.C., seeking damages and the granting of their long-delay…
Young Immigrants Make Personal Appeal to Obama, Biden
Official White House Photo by Pete Souza(WASHINGTON) — A group of seven young people shared their personal struggles with the immigration system during a meeting with President Obama and Vice President Biden on Tuesday. While senators continued to hag…
Oklahoma Senators Grapple with Past Disaster Aid Opposition
iStockphoto/Thinkstock(WASHINGTON) — Lawmakers have pledged to send aid to tornado-devastated Oklahoma quickly, but the state’s Republican lawmakers — six of whom voted against disaster aid after Superstorm Sandy — may be forced to reckon with their…
Obama Offers Prayers, Federal Aid to Oklahoma Tornado Victims
SAUL LOEB/AFP/Getty Images(WASHINGTON) — Offering prayers and assurances to the victims of the devastating tornado in Oklahoma, President Obama on Tuesday said he is instructing the federal government to provide the people of Moore with everything the…
New Stolen Valor Act Breezes Through House
Joshua Roberts/Bloomberg via Getty Images(WASHINGTON) — A new version of a bill that targets fake war heroes easily passed the House of Representatives late Monday with a 390-3 vote.The bill, H.R. 258 also known as the Stolen Valor Act of 2013, is the…
Obama Declares State of Emergency in Oklahoma After Tornado
Official White House Photo by Pete Souza(WASHINGTON) — President Obama late Monday declared a state of emergency in Oklahoma after a massive tornado ripped through the city of Moore, leaving at least 24 people dead and more than 100 injured.In a state…
POLL: Americans Suspicious of IRS Scandal, Majority Believes Benghazi Was Covered Up
Win McNamee/Getty Images(NEW YORK) — Americans in a new ABC News/Washington Post poll sharply reject the targeting of conservative groups by the Internal Revenue Service, suspect an administration cover-up of the Benghazi incident and express substant…
Rand Paul Calls IRS Scandal ‘Un-American’
Bill Clark/CQ Roll Call(CONCORD, N.H.) — Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul made another stop in an early voting state Monday evening, continuing to feed the speculation that he will possibly run for president in 2016. Just 10 days after stopping in the first ca…
Former ‘Fast and Furious’ Prosecutor Accused of Retaliatory Leak
David De Lossy/Thinkstock(WASHINGTON) — The “Fast and Furious” gun-walking controversy is back in the headlines.This time, a Justice Department Inspector General’s report says that a former top federal prosecutor decided to get back at whistleblower J…
Controversies Providing Obstacles for Obama, Poll Finds
Patrick Smith/Getty Images(NEW YORK) — Americans say that President Obama really has his work cut out for him during his second-term, largely because of scandals involving the Internal Revenue Service, the Justice Department subpoena of Associated Pre…
Does Obama Approve of Justice Department’s Targeting of Fox News Reporter?
iStockphoto/Thinkstock(WASHINGTON) — In yet another Justice Department leak investigation of journalists, the U.S. Department of Justice reportedly seized emails and phone records of Fox News correspondent James Rosen, and even tracked his comings and…
White House Chief of Staff Knew About IRS Investigation Last Month
Official White House Photo by Chuck Kennedy(WASHINGTON) – The White House answer to “who knew what and when?” shifted again Monday as White House Press Secretary Jay Carney told reporters that Chief of Staff Denis McDonough and &ldqu…
Immigration Bill Could Require Fingerprinting at Airports
iStockphoto/Thinkstock(WASHINGTON) — Senators amended the bipartisan immigration bill on Monday to require all non-U.S. citizens to be fingerprinted when leaving the U.S. through the country’s 30 busiest airports. The Senate Judiciary Committee approv…
Christie Stars in NJ Tourism Ads, Dems Cry Foul
Stronger Than The Storm(TRENTON, N.J.) — New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie and his family are starring in television commercials that are part of a publicly funded $25 million tourism campaign to encourage people to visit the Jersey Shore after Superstor…
GOP Candidate in Va. Compares Planned Parenthood to KKK
vapolitics.us(WASHINGTON) — This weekend, Virginia Republicans found their candidate for lieutenant governor in E.W. Jackson, a Chesapeake, Va. pastor who has compared Planned Parenthood to the Ku Klux Klan and also suggested that black Americans are …