Sean Lengell

Rep. Dave Camp accuses White House of ‘cover-up’ in IRS scandal

The chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee on Friday said the IRS scandal shows a "culture of cover-ups" and "political intimidation" within the Obama administration. Published May 17, 2013

GOP lawmakers look for ways to punish, limit reach of IRS

While the IRS scandal is only a week old, Capitol Hill Republicans already are pushing more than a half-dozen pieces of legislation that would punish and clip the wings of the beleaguered agency. Published May 16, 2013

Obama pushes out IRS chief, pledges to fix tax agency; move unlikely to end scandal

President Obama forced acting IRS Commissioner Steven Miller to resign Wednesday and said he will cooperate fully as he and Congress try to clean up the tax agency after it admitted targeting conservative groups for extra scrutiny during last year's campaign season. Published May 15, 2013

Scandal-scarred IRS rejects key Treasury Department recommendations

While the IRS has admitted it made mistakes vetting tea party and other conservative groups seeking tax exempt status, the agency has rejected two of nine recommendations that a government watchdog says are needed to ensure the problems don't happen again. Published May 15, 2013

IRS audit found political bias against conservatives; groups gave up after application delay

The IRS singled out tea party and other conservative groups for "burdensome" scrutiny because of their politically charged names and delayed approving some applications for so long that the groups simply gave up, according to an official government audit, released Tuesday, that has the agency reeling. Published May 14, 2013

Watchdog: Lax management to blame for IRS tea party targeting

An independent government watchdog said the Internal Revenue Service used "inappropriate criteria" and blamed "ineffective management" when reviewing applications from tea party groups seeking tax exempt status. Published May 14, 2013

Obama waits for probe before condemning IRS; Congress pounces

While President Obama said Monday that he is withholding judgment on the Internal Revenue Service's targeting of conservative groups, angry congressional leaders from both parties aren't waiting — they plan to begin hearings on the matter this week. Published May 13, 2013

Baucus blasts IRS for targeting conservative groups, wants probe

A senior Senate Democrat has joined the GOP chorus that for days has blasted the Internal Revenue Service for targeting conservative groups, with Senate Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus saying Monday he plans to investigate the beleaguered agency over the matter. Published May 13, 2013

Outraged GOP: It’s time to audit the IRS; targeting of conservative groups called ‘chilling’

Capitol Hill Republicans on Sunday called the Internal Revenue Service's targeting of conservative groups "chilling" and demanded a congressional inquiry. Published May 12, 2013

McCain senses Benghazi ‘cover-up,’ wants more Clinton testimony

Sen. John McCain on Sunday said a special congressional committee is needed to investigate last year's deadly attacks on a U.S. diplomatic outpost in Benghazi, Libya, and called on former Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton to testify again on Capitol Hill regarding her role in the matter. Published May 12, 2013

Rep. Adam Smith: GOP obsessed with Benghazi

The senior Democrat on the House Armed Services Committee says Republican obsession over the White House's handling of the inquiry into last year's deadly attack on a U.S. diplomatic outpost in Benghazi, Libya, is hurting the investigation. Published May 12, 2013

White House said IRS targeting of tea party groups ‘inappropriate’

The White House on Friday said it was wrong for the Internal Revenue Service to target some conservative groups — notably ones that had the words "tea party" in their titles — during the 2012 election session. Published May 10, 2013

Boston got warnings about bomb suspect too late

Boston Police Commissioner Edward Davis told Congress on Thursday that federal intelligence agencies didn't tell him before last month's Boston Marathon bombings of warnings received from Russian officials about suspect Tamerlan Tsarnaev's possible radical ties. Published May 9, 2013

GOP prepares to welcome back Sanford

Mark Sanford's plea for forgiveness succeeded with South Carolina voters on Tuesday, and now his Republican colleagues will have to decide whether they, too, can forgive him. Published May 8, 2013

Former S.C. Gov. Sanford headed back to Congress after defeating Colbert Busch

Former South Carolina Gov. Mark Sanford — once a rising star in the Republican Party whose career crashed four years ago after a bizarre extramarital affair — capped a remarkable political comeback Tuesday by winning a special election for the state's open House seat. Published May 7, 2013

Sanford’s late surge in South Carolina gives GOP hope

With Republican candidate Mark Sanford surging ahead in Tuesday's special congressional election in South Carolina, the party is increasingly hopeful it can avoid an embarrassing defeat in a district that analysts said it should have been able to hold easily. Published May 6, 2013

House committee to start hearings on Boston bombings

As Republicans continue to raise questions regarding the Obama administration's handling of intelligence leading up to the Boston bombings, the House this week will hold the first of what is expected to be many congressional hearings on the issue. Published May 5, 2013

GOP warming to Sanford in South Carolina House race

After giving Mark Sanford the cold shoulder for months, the Republican establishment slowly is warming to the former governor's campaign for South Carolina's open House seat, with several key Republicans weighing in with endorsements in recent days. Published May 2, 2013

Group wants states to rid voter rolls of the dead and ineligible

While the Obama administration pushes to stop people from being purged from voter rolls, a conservative-leaning group is pressing localities to clean up their lists — including suing two Mississippi counties where more names appear on the rolls than there are eligible voters. Published May 1, 2013

Lawmakers urge Obama to get tough on Syria

Capitol Hill lawmakers said Sunday that the U.S. must take a tough stance against Syria for reportedly using chemical weapons against its own people but stopped short of calling for troops to intervene inside the country. Published April 28, 2013