memeorandum: When May the Government Require Groups to Endorse Certain Views in Order to Get Government Benefits? (Eugene Volokh/The Volokh Conspiracy)

8:35 AM ET, June 22, 2013

Top Items:

U.S. charges Edward Snowden with espionage in leaks about NSA surveillance programs — Federal prosecutors have filed a sealed criminal complaint against Edward Snowden, the former National Security Agency contractor who leaked a trove of documents about top-secret surveillance programs …

U.S. News:

US charges NSA leaker Snowden with espionage — Federal prosecutors filed espionage charges against alleged National Security Agency leaker Edward Snowden, officials familiar with the process said. Authorities have also begun the process of getting Snowden back to the United States to stand trial.

Discussion: The Raw Story and BizPac Review

CNN:

U.S. charges Snowden with espionage — Washington (CNN) — Federal prosecutors have charged Edward Snowden, the man who admitted leaking top-secret details about U.S. surveillance programs, with espionage and theft of government property, according to a criminal complaint unsealed in U.S. District Court in Virginia on Friday.

Discussion: The Raw Story, Business Insider, KTLA 5 and Hot Air

Washington Post:
New documents reveal parameters of NSA's secret surveillance programs

Discussion: McClatchy Washington Bureau, Questions and Observations, Scared Monkeys, TheBlaze.com and The Gateway Pundit

Yahoo! News:

White House doesn't have ‘figure on costs’ of Africa trip — President Barack Obama makes the first extended trip to Africa of his presidency next week—but he won't be stopping in the country of his birth. — Obama's weeklong trip—June 26-July 3—which he's taking with his wife, Michelle …

Discussion: Little Green Footballs and The Huffington Post

Brian Beutler / Talking Points Memo:

McConnell: The IRS Scandal Probably Doesn't Reach The White House — Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell addressed the conservative American Enterprise Institute on Friday to update a warning he issued at the same venue one year ago about President Obama's supposedly anti-free speech administration.

Discussion: Mediaite

Siobhan Hughes / Wall Street Journal: McConnell Sees Effort to Harass the Right

Susan Ferrechio / Washington Examiner:
Top Shulman aide frequent White House visitor

Discussion: Weasel Zippers

JohnE / Ace of Spades HQ:

Is Michael Bloomberg Using City Resources For His “Mayors Against Illegal Guns” Group? — I really hate doing the question headline, but this definitely needs answering. I started poking around last night. — At first I pinged mayorsagainstillegalguns.org and found that it was resolving at a New York City government IP address.

Discussion: Washington Examiner, BuzzFeed, Weasel Zippers, Hot Air, Twitchy and Conservative Intelligence …

Politico:

Bloomberg site registered to city — The name “Mayors Against Illegal Guns” is well known as Mike Bloomberg's gun-control arm, which he spends his personal fortune through on ads. Yet the group's website is registered to, and handled by, official city government servers and staffers.

Alexander Bolton / The Hill:

House GOP ratchets up battle with Senate over student loan rates — House Republicans on Saturday stepped up the battle over student loans by accusing Senate Democrats of blocking a GOP plan to keep interest rates from doubling. — In a twist, they tried to ally themselves with President Obama …

Discussion: CNN

Jonathan Chait / New York Magazine:
House Republicans Hate Poor Too Much to End Farm Socialism

Discussion: Crooks and Liars, The Raw Story and The Huffington Post

Jennifer Steinhauer / New York Times:
Farm Bill's Fate in House Bodes Ill for Immigration Reform

Discussion: Outside the Beltway

Tom Kludt / Talking Points Memo:

Leahy: GOP Border Security Amendment ‘A Christmas Wish List For Haliburton’ — Sen. Patrick Leahy (D-VT) said Friday that the new border security amendment added to the immigration reform bill in the Senate is nothing more than a gift to defense contractors, but the Senate Judiciary Committee …

Discussion: Balloon Juice, Wonkblog and msnbc.com

Seung Min Kim / Reuters:
Countdown to immigration vote begins

Discussion: The Hill, Townhall.com and Hot Air

Niels Lesniewski / The World's Greatest …:
Reid Moves to Wrap Up Immigration Debate

Discussion: Post Politics, Washington Monthly, The Heritage Foundation and Daily Kos

First Read:
First Thoughts: What the farm bill's defeat tells us about immigration's chances

Discussion: A plain blog about politics and msnbc.com

Ramsey Cox / The Hill:
Reid schedules vote on border security amendment for Monday

Discussion: Reuters, The Hill and Red Alert Politics

Washington Post:

New pro-Hillary Clinton super PAC attracts donors and worries — The campaign has a flashy Web site and official logo T-shirts and signs. Prominent Democrats have endorsed it and written $25,000 checks. Its paid operatives and volunteers have set up shop in an Alexandria strip mall office …

Discussion: The Huffington Post, Alan Colmes' Liberaland and Post Politics

Maggie Haberman / Politico:
Hillary Clinton wants a female president ‘in my lifetime’

Discussion: CNN

Kyle Mantyla / Right Wing Watch:
Fischer: Democrats Are Going to Tell President Obama to ‘Sit in the Back of the Bus’

Discussion: The Daily Caller and Crooks and Liars

Julia Moskin / New York Times:

Food Network Drops Paula Deen — Paula Deen, the self-proclaimed queen of Southern cooking and a sugary mainstay of the Food Network, was dropped by the network on Friday, following a bewildering day in which she failed to show up for an interview on the “Today” show and then in two online videos begged …

Discussion: Taylor Marsh, The Raw Story, Towleroad News #gay, Gawker, The Daily Show …, The Huffington Post, Joe. My. God., msnbc.com and The Hinterland Gazette

CNN:
Official: Food Network will not renew Paula Deen's contract

Discussion: KTLA 5

Matt Berman / NationalJournal.com:

Rep. Louie Gohmert Has Some Feelings About the Farm Bill, America — On Thursday afternoon, Rep. Louie Gohmert gave a long, rambling floor speech. This isn't the most unusual thing to see happen on the House floor on a Thursday afternoon, but Gohmert really made this 30-minutes count:

Discussion: Daily Kos and Yahoo! News

David Weigel / Slate:

Netroots Nation: First Impressions — SAN JOSE, Calif.—The main ballroom of the convention hall was about half-full. The big “draw” for the first night's keynote speech was Oregon Sen. Jeff Merkley, who's beloved on the left for trying to reform the filibuster. But he's not exactly a major newsmaker.

Discussion: Balloon Juice and Hullabaloo

Richard L. Hasen / The Daily Beast:

What's Taking the Supreme Court So Long? — The biggest cases are still to come—and we should be celebrating this drawn-out finale, writes Richard L. Hasen, in defense of the court's end-of-term crunch. — With everyone anxiously awaiting potentially blockbuster decisions on issues …

Discussion: American Prospect and Election Law Blog

Terrell McSweeny / The White House:

President Obama Announces More Key Administration Posts — WASHINGTON, DC - Today, President Obama announced his intent to nominate the following individuals to key Administration posts: — Denise Bauer - Ambassador to Belgium, Department of State — John Berry - Ambassador to Australia, Department of State

Discussion: Washington Blade, Advocate and Towleroad News #gay

Susan Donaldson James / ABCNEWS:

Mormon Mom Who Fought for Prop 8, Now Fights for Gay Son — Wendy and Tom Montgomery are devout Mormons from California who pounded on doors in 2008 to support the passage of Proposition 8, the state referendum that overturned the ruling that allowed same-sex couples to marry in California, and is now before the U.S. Supreme Court.

Discussion: Towleroad News #gay, Advocate and LGBTQ Nation