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Mark Mardell, North America editor

Mark Mardell North America editor

Come here for America in all its glory - my take on the twist and turns of the presidency, electoral races and life beyond Washington

Sea of troubles for President Obama

President Obama and his administration have moved swiftly to put as much distance between themselves and this shocker of a scandal.

Look at the words he's used: "outrageous", "intolerable", "inexcusable", and if you didn't get it, "wrong".

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Mark added analysis to:

Obama says tax bias 'intolerable'

From what we know so far this appears to be an A-grade scandal - a shocking abuse of power with apparently political motives. President Obama says he's outraged - and has moved quickly to make it clear he knew nothing about it.

It is true that plenty of groups claim to be non-political when most sensible people would say that politics is their main purpose. But on the evidence so far, it seems only right-wing groups were targeted - and more bizarrely still only small local ones, not the huge lobby groups.

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Two press conferences in one

The news conference held by President Obama and the UK Prime Minister, David Cameron, was a clear example of two nations divided by a common purpose.

The purpose was the desire of the British and American media to get under the skin of their leaders, and ask awkward questions. But they were interested in completely different stories.

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The endless Syria conundrum

David Cameron's meeting with President Obama at the White House is likely to be dominated by Syria. Don't hold your breath for any great new announcements.

The UK prime minister is in the US partly for a big meeting at the UN on global development and partly for an event with Prince Harry, also in New York.

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Mark added analysis to:

US Benghazi talking points 'edited'

The new documents contain two rationales for the changes in language. The first is that it would prejudice the FBI investigation. Perhaps, but I am not at all persuaded.

The other reason given - old-fashioned butt-guarding - is more credible. However you read the motives, the state department and apparently the White House did get the CIA to change its story.

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Heads will roll on Benghazi

There's new evidence, obtained by ABC, that the Obama administration did deliberately purge references to "terrorism" from accounts of the attack on the Benghazi diplomatic mission, which killed four people including the US ambassador to Libya.

Conservatives have long maintained that the administration deliberately suppressed the truth about the attacks.

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About Mark

Covered British politics from the fall of Thatcher to Blair's last election victory as political correspondent, Newsnight Political editor, BBC Chief Political Correspondent and diarist for This Week.

The BBC's first Europe editor covering the impact of EU laws on people in and beyond the European Union's 27 countries, from illegal immigration to Poland to environmental change in Spain.

Grew up in Surrey, educated at Kent University in Canterbury, worked in commercial radio on Teesside Leeds and London before joining the BBC.

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