Mark Tapscott

Read the latest stories and analysis from Mark Tapscott.

Farmers slice open the green poppy bulbs, full raw opium, the main ingredient in heroin, on a poppy field in southern Afghanistan. (AP Photo/Abdul Khaliq)

Afghans headed to ‘narco-criminal state’

Mark Tapscott · September 13, 2014 11:31 am

Anti-tax hiker Grover Norquist wonders whether the Internal Revenue Service audit of Breitbart News represents a new front in the federal agency's targeting of conservative groups.ÃÂ (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta)

Is Breitbart audit evidence of IRS assault on conservative media outlets?

Mark Tapscott · September 12, 2014 4:17 pm

Federal officials paid nearly eight times the average price of homes in Ajo, Ariz., to build 21 family-type residences for U.S. Customs and Border Protection employees. (iStock image)

Feds’ tab for 21 desert homes: $680K each

Mark Tapscott · September 11, 2014 5:52 pm

Army officials at Fort Knox, Ky., improperly awarded 108 green energy jobs valued at more than $270 million and are unable to document claimed savings for the projects. (iStock Photo)

Energy and Environment

Lots of gold at Fort Knox but not much energy savings

Mark Tapscott · September 10, 2014 12:38 pm

Issa said a "circuitous monologue" ensued after the Fallon realized he was speaking with the majority rather than the minority staff. (Getty images/Drew Angerer)

UPDATED: Awkward phone call prompts Issa letter charging ‘under-the-table coordination’

Mark Tapscott · September 10, 2014 11:32 am

Justice Department Inspector General Michael Horowitz told the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform that "a number of our reviews have been significantly impeded" by a lack of access to crucial documents. (Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty images)

IG says Justice Department caused ‘significant delays’ in investigations

Mark Tapscott · September 9, 2014 5:41 pm

The IG said its investigators found that in four U.S. Postal Service cloud-computing contracts, nobody was assigned to monitor the contractors' compliance with security standards. (iStock)

Postal Service not yet ready for the cloud, watchdog finds

Mark Tapscott · September 9, 2014 9:00 am

DHS not prepared to handle killer pandemic, IG says

Mark Tapscott · September 8, 2014 5:53 pm

18F, a group working under the General Services Administration, "is working to create a clean, user-friendly online FOIA hub to submit requests to the federal government," said C.J. Ciaramella, editor of FOIA Rundown. (18F/General Services Administration)

New GSA office hopes to redefine FOIA users’ experience

Mark Tapscott · September 7, 2014 4:00 pm

Mayor David Garcia shows downtown Waveland, Miss. after Hurricane Katrina devastated the town in 2005. (AP Photo/Courtesy of David Garcia)

Nine years later, Hurricane Katrina recovery funds still being audited

Mark Tapscott · September 6, 2014 6:00 pm

Since 2008, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce has spent $527 million on lobbying, more than any other entity in the database. (Getty/Chip Somodevilla)

Nonprofit puts Federal Lobbying Database on the Internet for everybody

Mark Tapscott · September 6, 2014 9:00 am

IRS Commissioner John Koskinen testifies on Capitol Hill in Washington, Wednesday, on the IRS' response to the targeting of conservative organizations. (AP Photo)

Koskinen to explain why IRS didn’t search 760 servers that may have Lerner’s email

Mark Tapscott · September 5, 2014 5:36 pm