U.S. Edition
(CNN) - Acting on a conservative battle cry and potentially triggering a court battle with the Obama administration, the Republican-led House voted Wednesday to hold former IRS official Lois Lerner in contempt of Congress for refusing to answer questions about her agency's targeting of conservative and other groups.
The 231-187 vote fell almost entirely along party lines, a decision that cut across three sharp divides: balance of power issues between the branches of government, political questions over the IRS scandal, and a Constitutional debate over Lerner's individual Fifth Amendment rights.
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(CNN) – Monica Lewinsky writes that she's concerned a second Hillary Clinton bid for the White House would thrust her back into the spotlight.
"When I hear of Hillary's prospective candidacy, I cannot help but fear the next wave of paparazzi," she said in the upcoming issue of Vanity Fair.
(CNN) – Lynne Cheney has spent decades studying and admiring the nation's fourth president, James Madison.
Her new book, "James Madison: A Life Reconsidered" is a labor of political admiration that began five years ago and culminated in a historical journey in which Madison, the father of the Constitution, also becomes a prophet of productive conservatism.
She considers his impact generally under-appreciated but incredibly profound.
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New York (CNN) - The Nigerian government has been "somewhat derelict" in protecting their children, Hillary Clinton said Wednesday as international attention focused on schoolgirls kidnapped by a militant group.
"The seizure of these young women by this radical, extremist group, Boko Haram is abominable, it’s criminal, it’s an act of terrorism and it really merits the fullest response possible, first and foremost from the government of Nigeria," Clinton said, later adding that "the government of Nigeria has been in my view somewhat derelict in its responsibility toward protecting boy and girls, men and women in northern Nigeria over the last years."
Updated 6:47 p.m. ET, 5/7/2014
New York (CNN) – Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said Wednesday that she is "absolutely" satisfied with what she knows about the Benghazi terror attack, and cast doubt on the intentions of House Republicans spearheading a select committee to investigate it.
"I mean of course there are a lot of reasons why, despite all of the hearings, all of the information that’s been provided, some choose not to be satisfied and choose to continue to move forward," Clinton said in an appearance in New York.
Asheville, North Carolina (CNN) - It was a tough loss.
Tea party members in North Carolina put in countless hours to elect U.S. Senate candidate Greg Brannon.
When he didn’t get enough votes to force a runoff against establishment GOP opponent Thom Tillis in Tuesday’s primary election, the leaders of one local tea party group wondered if it's worth competing in national races.
CNN's GUT CHECK | for May 7, 2014| 5 p.m. – n. a pause to assess the state, progress or condition of the political news cycle
PUTIN SAYS BORDER TROOPS GONE … Russian President Vladimir Putin said Russian troops have withdrawn from the Ukrainian border, speaking at a press conference with the head of the Organization for Security and Co‑operation in Europe (OSCE), after the two met in Moscow Wednesday. "We were told repeatedly that our forces by the Ukrainian border were a source of concern,” Putin said. “We have withdrawn our forces and they are now not on the Ukrainian border but are carrying out their regular exercises at the test grounds. This can be easily verified using modern intelligence techniques, including from space, where everything can be seen."
(CNN) - Joining in an effort to eliminate pork-barrel spending, Sen. Ted Cruz welcomed a pig named Churchill to Capitol Hill on Wednesday.
Joined by fellow Republican Sens. John McCain and Jeff Flake, Cruz praised the group hosting the event, Citizens Against Government Waste, and said, "the culture of corruption that is rampant in Washington and sadly it is a bipartisan affair."
(CNN) – The legislative committee investigating the New Jersey bridge scandal has called on one of Gov. Chris Christie's top political advisers to cooperate with its probe.
The Select Committee on Investigation has subpoenaed Michael DuHaime, a prominent Republican strategist who served as a top adviser to Christie's 2009 election and last year's re-election.
For more of our interview with Rep. Trey Gowdy, watch "The Lead with Jake Tapper" on CNN at 4 p.m. ET
(CNN) – Former acting Deputy Director of the CIA Michael Morell testified before the House Intelligence Committee last month, saying the Benghazi CIA station chief e-mailed three possibilities for what had motivated the 2012 attack: the anniversary of 9/11, revenge for the death of a senior al Qaeda leader in Pakistan, and an anti-Muslim video posted on YouTube.
Morell also denied any kind of cover-up or political influence behind the edits he made to those now-infamous talking points used by the White House.