memeorandum: U.S. surveillance architecture includes collection of revealing Internet, phone metadata (Barton Gellman/Washington Post)

1:15 PM ET, June 16, 2013

Top Items:

Declan McCullagh / CNET:

NSA admits listening to U.S. phone calls without warrants — National Security Agency discloses in secret Capitol Hill briefing that thousands of analysts can listen to domestic phone calls. That authorization appears to extend to e-mail and text messages too.

Discussion: Yahoo! News, Crooks and Liars, Hot Air, Doug Ross, Althouse, Weasel Zippers, Balloon Juice, The PJ Tatler, americanthinker.com, Ed Driscoll, Little Green Footballs, The Huffington Post, Guardian, National Review, The Verge and Patterico's Pontifications

Barton Gellman / Washington Post:

U.S. surveillance architecture includes collection of revealing Internet, phone metadata — On March 12, 2004, acting attorney general James B. Comey and the Justice Department's top leadership reached the brink of resignation over electronic surveillance orders that they believed to be illegal.

Discussion: The Verge, Lawfare, emptywheel, Balloon Juice and The Volokh Conspiracy

Erik Wasson / The Hill:

Cheney calls Snowden a ‘traitor,’ defends NSA surveillance programs — Former Vice President Dick Cheney on Sunday defended the National Security Agency's data surveillance programs and labeled admitted leaker Edward Snowden as a “traitor.” — “I think he's a traitor...I think he has committed crimes …

Discussion: Politico, Alan Colmes' Liberaland and Scared Monkeys

Ben Geman / The Hill:

McDonough: Obama will speak about NSA — White House Chief of Staff Denis McDonough said President Obama will make more remarks about National Security Agency telephone data and internet surveillance programs in the coming days. — McDonough, speaking on CBS on Sunday …

Discussion: Politico

Jennifer Epstein / Politico:
Cheney defends NSA surveillance

Discussion: Alan Colmes' Liberaland

Associated Press:
Officials: NSA programs broke plots in 20 nations

Discussion: ThinkProgress, Alan Colmes' Liberaland, Gawker and CNN

Andrew Kaczynski / BuzzFeed:
Video: Congressman Claims He Was Told Government Could Listen To Phone Calls Without A Warrant [[Update]]

Discussion: Alan Colmes' Liberaland and Weasel Zippers

Mark Hosenball / Reuters:
U.S. spy agency paper says fewer than 300 phone numbers closely scrutinized

Discussion: emptywheel

Meghashyam Mali / The Hill:

Rubio: Obama ‘failed’ in Syria — Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) hailed efforts to arm opposition forces seeking to topple Syrian strongman Bashar al-Assad, but said President Obama's decision to aid the rebels may have come too late. — “Timing matters and these were options that were there for us …

Discussion: Politico

Ashley Killough / CNN:

Menendez: Time to ‘tip the scales’ in Syria — (CNN) - The chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee said Sunday President Barack Obama was making a sound call in his decision to provide military support to Syrian rebels and suggested such support should include taking out Syrian government airstrips.

Discussion: The Hill and Politico

Paige Lavender / The Huffington Post:
Sarah Palin On Syria: ‘Let Allah Sort It Out’ (VIDEO)

Discussion: Scared Monkeys, ABCNEWS, Taylor Marsh and The Raw Story

The Boston Globe:

A 13-point gap with 10 days to go, but disengaged voters remain unpredictable — Democrat Edward J. Markey holds a solid lead over his Republican rival, Gabriel E. Gomez, as the two enter the final week of the special US Senate campaign, according to a new Boston Globe poll.

Discussion: CNN, Taegan Goddard's … and Outside the Beltway

Chris Johnson / Washington Blade:
Gabriel Gomez endorses ENDA

Discussion: Blue Mass Group and Towleroad News #gay

Maureen Dowd / New York Times:

Bill Schools Barry on Syria — WASHINGTON — NOT only is President Obama leading from behind, now he's leading from behind Bill Clinton. — After dithering for two years over what to do about the slaughter in Syria, the president was finally shoved into action by the past and perhaps future occupant of his bedroom.

Discussion: Althouse and Prairie Weather

Ben Geman / The Hill:

McDonough: Iranian election a ‘potentially hopeful sign’ — White House chief of staff Denis McDonough on Sunday called moderate Hassan Rouhani's victory in the Iranian presidential election a “potentially hopeful sign.” — He called it an opportunity to help defuse the collision …

Discussion: Politico and Alan Colmes' Liberaland

Meghashyam Mali / The Hill:

Sen. Rubio says most of immigration reform bill in ‘perfect shape’ — Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) on Sunday said that much of the Gang of Eight's immigration reform bill was in “perfect shape,” but added he would insist on tougher border security measures. — Rubio, one of the authors of the bill …

Discussion: Politico

Josh Israel / ThinkProgress:

Dick Cheney Laughs Off Privacy Concerns Over Government Surveillance — Former Vice President Dick Cheney (R), whose false statements helped propel the United States into an eight year war in Iraq, said Sunday that citizens should simply “trust” the federal government on matters of privacy and security.

Discussion: Prairie Weather