memeorandum: An alternative explanation for the Benghazi talking points: Bureaucratic knife fight (Glenn Kessler/Washington Post)

5:30 PM ET, May 11, 2013

Top Items:

Ernesto Londoño / Washington Post:

Libya protests prompt U.S. to evacuate diplomats, put troops on alert — Growing concerns over protests roiling Libya prompted the State Department to begin evacuating some diplomats from Tripoli, as the Pentagon put troops stationed at nearby European bases on high alert.

Discussion: Hot Air, americanthinker.com, Outside the Beltway and Post Politics

Mark Landler / New York Times:

Benghazi E-Mails Put White House on the Defensive — WASHINGTON — A long-simmering dispute over the White House's account of the deadly assault on the American diplomatic compound in Benghazi, Libya, flared up on Friday, with a disclosure of e-mails that show the White House was more deeply involved …

Discussion: TIME, Via Meadia, Michelle Malkin and Twitchy

Noah Rothman / Mediaite:
MSNBC Guests: Benghazi Scandal Makes White House ‘Look Terrible,’ Possibly An ‘Impeachment Issue’

Discussion: Maggie's Farm, Scared Monkeys and The Gateway Pundit

Glenn Kessler / Washington Post:
An alternative explanation for the Benghazi talking points: Bureaucratic knife fight

Discussion: Power Line, Alan Colmes' Liberaland, The PJ Tatler, No More Mister Nice Blog, Mother Jones, Post Politics, The Fix and USA Today

Alex Koppelman / News Desk:
Spinning Benghazi

Discussion: msnbc.com, Fox News, NewsBusters, The Daily Caller, Guardian, Scared Monkeys, Pundit & Pundette, Viking Pundit and National Review

Kevin Liptak / CNN:
West Wing briefly evacuated due to smoke, Secret Service says

Discussion: The Hill

Alex Seitz-Wald / Salon:
White House: Republicans ignored Benghazi emails

Discussion: Alan Colmes' Liberaland, Mediaite and Speaker.gov

Associated Press:

IRS knew tea party targeted in 2011 — WASHINGTON — A federal watchdog's upcoming report says senior Internal Revenue Service officials knew agents were targeting tea party groups in 2011. — The disclosure contradicts public statements by former IRS Commissioner Douglas Shulman …

Discussion: Power Line, Weasel Zippers, Hot Air, The Gateway Pundit and Associated Press

Peter Schroeder / The Hill:

Report: Top IRS officials knew of Tea Party targeting two years ago — Senior officials with the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) knew the agency was targeting Tea Party groups as early as 2011, according to a report. — The Associated Press reported Saturday that an upcoming report …

Discussion: Yahoo! News, The Gateway Pundit and Alan Colmes' Liberaland

Ezra Klein / Wonkblog:
The IRS was wrong to target the tea party. They should've gone after all 501(c)4s.

Discussion: Balloon Juice, Prairie Weather, The Plum Line, Law Blog, Wall Street Journal and Washington Post

Jonathan Weisman / New York Times:
I.R.S. Apologizes to Tea Party Groups Over Audits of Applications for Tax Exemption

Discussion: Scared Monkeys, The Gateway Pundit, Weekly Standard, National Review, The Week, Weasel Zippers, House Committee …, Washington Post and Business Insider

Meenal Vamburkar / Mediaite:

Maher, Joy Reid Clash With Glenn Greenwald Over Benghazi: 'Obama's Supposed To Micromanage' The World? — On his Friday night show, Bill Maher invited his panel to discuss this week's developments about Benghazi — debating whether the story is as scandalous as Republicans are making it out to be.

Discussion: Weasel Zippers, Balloon Juice and The Raw Story

Nick Wing / The Huffington Post:

Michele Bachmann: 9/11, Benghazi Were God's ‘Judgment,’ So We Must Hold Day Of Prayer On Sept. 11 — Rep. Michele Bachmann (R-Minn.) continued to promote a right-wing Sept. 11 “National Day of Prayer and Fasting” on Thursday, telling an audience gathered at a Capitol Hill event that such actions …

Discussion: Alan Colmes' Liberaland, Outside the Beltway and The Raw Story

Kyle Mantyla / Right Wing Watch:
Bachmann: 9/11 and Benghazi Were God's Judgment

Discussion: Mediaite, The Maddow Blog and Hullabaloo

Ezra Klein / Wonkblog:

Rand Paul: Obama is working with ‘anti-American globalists plot[ting] against our Constitution.’ — Rand Paul. (AFP) — The New York Times calls Sen. Rand Paul (Ky.) one of the Republican Party's “rising stars.” The Daily Beast says he's “a smoother, more pragmatic political operator” …

Discussion: TBogg, Booman Tribune and The Daily Beast

Michael O'Brien / NBC Politics:

Rand Paul challenges Hillary Clinton in key Iowa speech — CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa — Presidential elections start in Iowa. — On Friday, Sen. Rand Paul put his stake in the ground for a possible run in 2016 by mocking the Obama administration and delivering a blistering critique of former Secretary …

Discussion: Mediaite and The Hill

Sam Baker / The Hill:

Rep. Pelosi knocks Republicans' ‘obsession’ with Benghazi attack — Congressional Republicans are using their Benghazi investigation as political “subterfuge” to distract from other issues, House Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) said Saturday. — Pelosi said it's important to find …

New York Times:

Troubled Life in Malcolm X's Shadow Comes to a Violent End — Last week, Malcolm Shabazz, the grandson of Malcolm X, was talking to his friend Daniel Stevens when he learned that Mr. Stevens was worried that his fledgling rap career was going nowhere. Mr. Shabazz vowed to help …

Discussion: Gothamist and Talking Points Memo

J. Bradford DeLong / Brad DeLong:

Moby Ben, or, The Washington Super-Whale: Hedge Fundies, the Federal Reserve, and Bernanke-Hatred — In February 2012, a number of hedge fund traders noted one particular index—CDX IG 9—that seemed to be underpriced. It seemed to be cheaper to buy credit default protection on the 125 companies …

Discussion: Business Insider and Paul Krugman

Jon Hilsenrath / Wall Street Journal:
Fed Maps Exit From Stimulus

Discussion: The Lonely Conservative, Business Insider and Biz Beat Blog

Peter Schroeder / The Hill:

Holder defends federal terrorism trials, dismisses critics as ‘simply wrong’ — The attorney general told graduates that federal courts are capable of handling terrorism cases, accusing critics of “ignoring reality.” — Attorney General Eric Holder staunchly maintained that federal courts …

Lee Stranahan / BREITBART.COM:

KOCH SPONSORS PRO-AMNESTY BUZZFEED EVENT — An event touting itself as an evening of immigration reform discussion with a “diversity of opinion” turns out to be slanted heavily towards “comprehensive immigration reform.” The BuzzFeed Brews Special Edition: Immigration Summit …

Discussion: Mediaite, National Review, Right Wing Watch, Right Turn and The Dish

Peter Schroeder / The Hill:

Obama hails top cops, reiterates call for tougher gun laws — President Obama hailed the nation's police force as America at “its best and its bravest” Saturday, while continuing his push for tougher gun laws. — At an event honoring the nation's top cops, Obama reiterated his call for …