McConnell: ‘There is a culture of intimidation throughout the administration’

Republican Senators Rand Paul, Mitch McConnell and Rob Portman continued Sunday to press the Obama administration on the Internal Revenue Service scandal that's engulfed the White House. On CNN's "State of the Union," Paul told Candy Crowley he heard about a "written policy" that encouraged IRS officials to target "those who are critical of the [...]

Obama delivers historic commencement at Morehouse College

President Barack Obama took a break from the trifecta of controversies—IRS, Department of Justice, Benghazi—swirling around the White House on Sunday to deliver the commencement address at Morehouse College, the historically black, all-male institution in Atlanta. "What I ask of you today is the same thing I ask of every graduating class I address," Obama [...]

IRS asked anti-abortion group about content of public prayers

While applying with the Internal Revenue Service for tax-exempt status in 2009, an Iowa-based anti-abortion group was asked to provide information about its members' prayer meetings, documents sent by an IRS official to the organization reveal. On June 22, 2009, the Coalition for Life of Iowa received a letter from the IRS office in Cincinnati, [...]

Obama: His tiger’s not grrreat!

Following a rough, scandal-filled week in Washington, President Barack Obama got dressed down by a bunch of kids. During a visit to Moravia Park Elementary School in Baltimore, Md., Friday, the president was asked to do another challenging task: Draw a tiger. "I got to help with one of the lessons. We were having to [...]

The IRS targeted tea party groups. Did liberal groups get better treatment?

Today marks the one-week anniversary of the Internal Revenue Service's disclosure that it improperly scrutinized certain conservative groups applying for tax-exempt status. As an inspector general report on the practice found, groups with phrases like "tea party," "patriots" and "9/12 project" were targeted for the "Be On the Look Out" or "BOLO" list, and often [...]

Republicans Informed of IRS Investigation Last Year

Much has been made of the fact that senior Treasury Department officials were told about the investigation into the treatment of tea party groups in June 2012 — months before last year’s the Presidential election. Republicans who requested the investigation were also told about it...

Obama Pivots to Jobs Tour at End of Scandal Filled Week

After a week filled with political scandals, President Obama turned to promoting his jobs tour in his weekly address Saturday. “That’s why I like getting out of the Washington echo chamber whenever I can – because too often, our politics aren’t focused on the same...

IRS Planted Question About Tax Exempt Groups

The Internal Revenue Service planted a question at an American Bar Association conference in order to reveal that it had inappropriately targeted conservative groups prior to the 2012 elections. But members of Congress are questioning why they weren’t told earlier. The question that prompted Lois...

Speier Calls Congress 'Enablers of Sexual Assault'

Lawmakers Wednesday came down hard on military leaders, the morning after allegations emerged of another head of a military sexual assault prevention program engaging in the very behavior he was charged with stopping. Late Tuesday the Army announced that the coordinator of a sexual assault prevention program at...

IRS IG Report: Targeting Conservatives Began In 2010

The targeting of conservatives by the IRS started earlier and was more extensive than the IRS acknowledged last week, according to a draft IRS inspector general report obtained by ABC News. As we reported on “Good Morning America” this morning, the IRS began targeting “Tea...

AP CEO calls records seizure unconstitutional

WASHINGTON (AP) — The president and chief executive officer of The Associated Press on Sunday called the government's secret seizure of two months of reporters' phone records "unconstitutional" and said the news cooperative had not ruled out legal action against the Justice Department.

Obama exhorts good deeds by Morehouse graduates

ATLANTA (AP) — President Barack Obama, in a soaring commencement address on work, sacrifice and opportunity, on Sunday told graduates of historically black Morehouse College to seize the power of their example as black men graduating from college and use it to improve people's lives.

Tea party looks to take advantage of moment

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Is the tea party getting its groove back? Shouts of vindication from around the country suggest the movement's leaders certainly think so.

What do we eat? New food map will tell us

CHAPEL HILL, N.C. (AP) — Do your kids love chocolate milk? It may have more calories on average than you thought.

Obama to speak on legality of drone program

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Barack Obama will discuss the legality of his administration's secret drone program and other counterterrorism practices during a speech Thursday, a White House official said.

Obama's Troubles Could Put Massachusetts Senate Seat In Play -- Again

Is history repeating itself in Massachusetts?

Explaining the Connection Between Obama's Health Care Law and the IRS

Even before news organizations confirmed that Sarah Hall Ingram, who headed the tax-exempt division of the IRS, would lead agency's implementation of the ACA, Republicans wasted no time trying to link the scandal to the law.

You Know What Really Risks National Security? Leak Investigations

A year ago, the Associated Press discovered a foiled al-Qaida plot to blow up a plane. Worried about the safety of an informant in the case, the CIA asked the AP to delay publishing the story until its spy could be secured. The AP agreed.

The Edge: Obama's Presidency Hinges on Flap Fallout

The Edge is National Journal's daily look at today in Washington -- and what's coming next. The email features analysis from NJ's top correspondents, the biggest stories of the day -- and always a few surprises. To subscribe, click here.

So, a Fed Chairman Is Speaking at Your Graduation

"The future of our country is in jeopardy." It's what every college graduate wants to hear while sitting up on that stage, sweltering in the spring heat with friends and family watching.

Dan Pfeiffer Explains the IRS Scandal

White House senior adviser Dan Pfeiffer did a tour of the sunday shows to try and calm everyone down about this whole IRS targeting Tea Party groups scandal. He was the one tasked with assuring the masses that the White House knew nothing, that things will change in the future, and that heads will roll. On Fox News Sunday, Pfeiffer promised the administration would make sure "everyone who did an

What We've Learned About the Cincinnati Team at the Heart of the IRS Scandal

The IRS' office of Exempt Organizations sounds like a terrible place to work. Piling on to the critical report from a Treasury Inspector General, at least four sweeping media assessments this weekend show a department that is overwhelmed, underfunded, and poorly managed.

The President's Umbrella Scandal Folded Before It Could Take Off

There was a brief moment where some conservative were trying to make a scandal out of the President's moment in the rain on Thursday. But unfortunately that scandal died before it could really take off. During his Thursday press conference with Turkish Prime Minister Recep Erdogan, a Marine officer held an umbrella over the President's head to protect him from the rain. There were many problems

Head of Pro-Israel Organization Targeted By IRS Speaks Out

"Special unit"assigned to groups "groups supportive of Israel."

The IRS Scandal Was First Revealed by an IRS Official Asking to Be Asked About It

The IRS official who revealed the IRS had inappropriately targeted conservative groups on Friday did so on purpose -- by asking a tax lawyer to ask her about it at American Bar Association tax section’s annual meeting. Tax lawyer Celia Roady issued a statement, posted by Talking Points Memo, saying that the IRS's Lois Lerner asked called her before the meeting and "asked if I would pose a questi

The Smoking Gun Can Tell the AP What a Federal Leak Investigation Is Like

When, in 2006, the website The Smoking Gun released a secret CIA memo documenting prisoner organizing strategies at Guantanamo Bay, the FBI took notice. Now the site has posted details of the ensuing 44-month-long investigation, offering a timely glimpse into the black box of a Department of Justice leak prosecution.

What Are the Solutions to This Week's Scandals?

As Scandal Week comes to a close, it's worth reviewing the policy proposals that have followed in the revelations' wake. There … aren't many. We looked at each of the week's three scandals, such as they are, assessing what could possibly be done as a function of public policy, and then what policies have been proposed.

So Who Lied to ABC News About the Benghazi Emails?

ABC News' Jonathan Karl's revelation of the White House's role in 12 revisions to the Benghazi talking points propelled the story, long percolating in conservative media, into a bona fide scandal. But then CNN's Jake Tapper's revelation of what the emails actually said revealed that to be a fake scandal. ...

The Bob Menendez Scandal Has Gotten So Weird

The scandal surrounding New Jersey Sen. Bob Menendez has evolved from a sex scandal to a donor scandal to a weird mystery about who set him up, with the FBI talking to sugar baron brothers and an ex-CIA operative. Last fall, the Daily Caller showed videos of women who said Menendez had paid them for sex in the Dominican Republic while partying with a wealthy Florida eye doctor, Salomon Melgen. The

Obama gets break from scandals to push jobs and economy in Baltimore

After a week filled with controversy and criticism, President Barack Obama left town Friday for Baltimore, the second stop on his "Middle Class Jobs & Opportunity Tour." The trip, which was previously scheduled, took him to a dredging manufacturer and an elementary school, with the next stop on the itinerary a community center. At Ellicott [...]