memeorandum: G.O.P. Delays on Nominees Raise Tension (Jeremy W. Peters/New York Times)

1:05 AM ET, May 12, 2013

Top Items:

Lauren French / Politico:

IRS officials knew of tea party targeting — Senior Internal Revenue Service officials knew employees were singling out conservative groups for extra scrutiny as early as 2011, according to a watchdog agency's report set to be released next week, POLITICO has confirmed from a congressional source.

Discussion: Weasel Zippers, Hot Air, The Lonely Conservative, Power Line and Reuters

Stephen Ohlemacher / bigstory.ap.org:

AP EXCLUSIVE: IRS KNEW TEA PARTY TARGETED IN 2011 — You are here — Home » Mitch McConnell » AP Exclusive: IRS knew tea party targeted in 2011 — WASHINGTON (AP) — Senior Internal Revenue Service officials knew agents were targeting tea party groups as early as 2011 …

Discussion: Michelle Malkin, The PJ Tatler, The Huffington Post, CNSNews, National Review and Associated Press

Ben Smith / BuzzFeed:

Pro-Israel Group Sees “Same Conduct” In IRS's Tea Party Campaign — Z Street charged in 2010 that the Obama Administration was persecuting it for its policy views. Does Israel activism “contradict the Administration's public policies?” an IRS agent allegedly asked.

Discussion: USA Today and Patterico's Pontifications

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, American Power and The Volokh Conspiracy

William A. Jacobson / Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion:

IRS anti-Tea Party scandal gets real — senior IRS officials aware of targeting (Update - Chief Counsel knew and targets expanded to groups “educating on the Constitution and Bill of Rights") — This is getting real. — Yesterday it was just some “low level” employees involved.

Discussion: protein wisdom, Hot Air, ProfessorBainbridge.com, Sister Toldjah, OpenMarket.org, Twitchy and Washington Post

Associated Press:

AP Exclusive: Watchdog report says senior IRS officials knew tea party groups 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 …

Discussion: The Gateway Pundit

Washington Post:
Playing politics with tax records

Discussion: Hot Air, Althouse, NationalJournal.com, OpenMarket.org, Right Turn and The Fix

Lori Lowenthal Marcus / The Jewish Press:
IRS Punished Conservative Non-Profits, Perhaps Also Pro-Israel Groups

Discussion: Ed Driscoll, Atlas Shrugs, Weasel Zippers, Twitchy, Nice Deb, National Review and The Daily Caller

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

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

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: The Impolitic, TBogg, No More Mister Nice Blog and Booman Tribune

Guy Benson / Townhall.com:

Wow: CBS News President and WH Official Tied to Benghazi Scandal Are Brothers — One of the mainstream media journalists whose pursuit of the truth has been truly tenacious and nonpartisan is CBS News' Sharyl Attkisson. Her tough reporting has made life difficult for everyone from Hillary Clinton …

Discussion: The Gateway Pundit, Weasel Zippers, Ed Driscoll, NewsBusters and Jammie Wearing Fools

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: Fox News, The Caucus, TIME, Outside the Beltway, Via Meadia, Twitchy and Michelle Malkin

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

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

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

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

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

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

BuzzFeed:

Bloomberg Execs Knew Journalists Were Tracking Clients In 2011 — An anchor made on-air comments about tracking log in information more than a year ago. A big deal internally — but handled quietly. — Executives at the financial information company Bloomberg have known about journalists using …

Discussion: AllThingsD, The Verge, Weasel Zippers and JustOneMinute, more at Mediagazer »

Jeremy W. Peters / New York Times:

G.O.P. Delays on Nominees Raise Tension — WASHINGTON — President Obama's latest cabinet-level nominees are running into deep resistance in the Senate, pitching Democrats and Republicans into another tense standoff over White House appointments. — Just days after Republicans used Senate rules …

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 …

Discussion: Hot Air

Daniel Boffey / Guardian:

Recession is a good time to exploit cheap labour, says Cameron aide — Lord Young says low-wage conditions are a bonus for business, drawing a furious response from the TUC — The prime minister's adviser on enterprise has told the cabinet that the economic downturn is an excellent …

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 …