Michael Barone

Published: Sat, May 18, 2013

Chilling effect. That's the term lawyers and judges use to describe the result of government actions that deter people from exercising their right of free speech. There have been plenty of examples in the past 10 days. The Obama administration's Justice Department issued a sweeping demand...

Charlie Spiering

Updated: Fri, May 17, 2013

White House Press Secretary Jay Carney has come under heavy fire this week as journalists grilled him about the three scandals hitting President Obama’s administration at once. On CNN Thursday night, however, Carney explained to Piers Morgan that he has actually enjoyed his job this week....

Brian Hughes

Published: Thu, May 16, 2013

President Obama on Thursday ratcheted up efforts to put behind him a trio of scandals bogging down his administration, appointing a new head for the beleaguered Internal Revenue Service while not apologizing for his Justice Department's secret monitoring of reporters' phones. Obama condemned...

Paul Bedard

Updated: Thu, May 16, 2013

House and Senate Republican leaders are gagging on the administration's pick to run the IRS Obamacare enforcement office because she headed the unit that improperly probed into Tea Party groups, a scandal that has cut short the careers of two top officials--so far. "Stunning, just stunning,"...

Byron York

Published: Thu, May 16, 2013

Security along the U.S. border with Mexico is perhaps the key factor in the debate over comprehensive immigration reform. Those who believe the border is mostly secure already are more inclined to support the plan of the bipartisan Gang of Eight in the Senate -- legalization first, followed by...

Susan Ferrechio

Published: Thu, May 16, 2013

Tea Party leaders from around the country gathered in Washington Thursday to vent outrage at the Internal Revenue Service for targeting them and other conservative organizations seeking tax-exempt status and threatened to sue the agency for damages. "They lost membership and donations, they...

Brian Hughes

Updated: Thu, May 16, 2013

President Obama on Thursday expressed “complete confidence” in embattled Attorney General Eric Holder, making no apologies for the Justice Department secretly seizing reporters’ phone records. In a press conference with Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Obama addressed the...

Susan Ferrechio

Published: Thu, May 16, 2013

The “Gang of Eight” immigration reform bill could be up for a vote before the full Senate by the first week of June, Majority Leader Harry Reid said Thursday. Reid, D-Nev., vowed in a floor speech to take up the legislation, “as soon as it is ready,” even if it means interrupting work...

Joel Gehrke

Updated: Thu, May 16, 2013

House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., charged Republicans with “exploiting” the questions surrounding the Benghazi talking points, the AP phone records seizure and the IRS scandal to attack President Obama because “they fear” his agenda and eloquence. “This president — they...

Joel Gehrke

Updated: Thu, May 16, 2013

IRS officials refused to grant tax exempt status to two pro-life organizations because of their position on the abortion issue, according to a non-profit law firm, which said that one group was pressured not to protest a pro-choice organization that endorsed President Obama during the last...