memeorandum: House Republicans swiftly announce hearing on IRS targeting conservative groups (Fox News)

2:40 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, Atlas Shrugs, The PJ Tatler, The Huffington Post, Twitchy, CNSNews, National Review, Associated Press and Washington Post

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: Patterico's Pontifications

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: Ed Driscoll, Weasel Zippers, protein wisdom, Hot Air, ProfessorBainbridge.com, Sister Toldjah, Scared Monkeys, OpenMarket.org and Twitchy

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, Washington Free Beacon, American Power and The Volokh Conspiracy

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

Fox News:

House Republicans swiftly announce hearing on IRS targeting conservative groups — The IRS acknowledging that it targeted conservative political groups during the 2012 election season has sparked bipartisan calls for investigation — with House Republicans already saying they will hold a hearing on the issue.

Discussion: Weasel Zippers

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: New York Post, Weasel Zippers, The Verge and JustOneMinute, more at Mediagazer »

Steve Liesman / CNBC:

Fed, Treasury Examining Bloomberg Use of Terminal Data — Both the Federal Reserve and the US Treasury Department are examining the extent to which Bloomberg-terminal usage by top officials might have been tracked by Bloomberg journalists, CNBC has learned.

Discussion: AllThingsD, Deadline.com and New York Post, more at Mediagazer »

J. Bradford DeLong / Brad DeLong:
Moby Ben, or, The Washington Super-Whale: Hedge Fundies, the Federal Reserve, and Bernanke-Hatred

Discussion: Business Insider and Paul Krugman

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, The Impolitic, 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

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, Post Politics and Outside the Beltway

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

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

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

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

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 …

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 …