memeorandum: HILLARY RODHAM CLINTON DEFENDS PRISONER SWAP (Nicholas Riccardi/Associated Press)

10:45 AM ET, June 3, 2014

Top Items:

Bowe Bergdahl's Vanishing Before Capture Angered His Unit — WASHINGTON — Sometime after midnight on June 30, 2009, Pfc. Bowe Bergdahl left behind a note in his tent saying he had become disillusioned with the Army, did not support the American mission in Afghanistan and was leaving to start a new life.

Discussion: The Hill, Politico, ThinkProgress, Facebook, Weekly Standard, Daily Mail, Mediaite, The Week, NPR, National Review, The American Legion and Patterico's Pontifications

Maggie Haberman / Politico:

Hillary Clinton defends Bowe Bergdahl exchange — Hillary Clinton defended President Obama's move to free a long-held U.S. prisoner of war from Afghanistan in exchange for five men being held at Guantanamo Bay in a speech on the outskirts of Denver on Monday night.

Discussion: ABC News, CNN and Taylor Marsh

Nicholas Riccardi / Associated Press:

HILLARY RODHAM CLINTON DEFENDS PRISONER SWAP — BROOMFIELD, Colo. (AP) — Hillary Rodham Clinton gave a measured defense Monday of the Obama administration's controversial decision to swap five Guantanamo Bay detainees for a U.S. soldier held hostage in Afghanistan, noting that many of America's allies make similar deals.

Discussion: Talking Points Memo, Washington Post, ABC News, Business Insider and Mediaite

Eli Lake / The Daily Beast:

How Obama Convinced His Spies to Support the Taliban Prisoner Release — The Pentagon and the nation's top intelligence official opposed releasing the Gitmo Five in 2012. This time around the White House got the answer it wanted when the Taliban was ready to deal.

Discussion: Politico, Just Security, New York Times, TPNN, National Review, The Hill, Fox News, The Daily Caller, Washington Free Beacon, Lawfare, The Federalist and The PJ Tatler

Fox News:

Sources: Intelligence community investigated Bergdahl's conduct — A senior official confirms to Fox News that the conduct of Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl — both in his final stretch of active duty in Afghanistan and then, too, during his time when he lived among the Taliban — has been thoroughly investigated …

Discussion: Mediaite, Independent Journal Review, Daily Mail, Yahoo! News, The Daily Beast, The Week, his vorpal sword, Hot Air, Washington Free Beacon, The Daily Caller, The Jawa Report, The Gateway Pundit, National Review and The PJ Tatler

Alexander Bolton / The Hill:

Prisoner swap: Did Hillary know? — Republicans are raising questions about whether Hillary Clinton knew about the White House plan to release senior Taliban commanders in exchange for the last U.S. prisoner of war. — President Obama met with his former secretary of State for lunch on Thursday …

Discussion: Politico, BREITBART.COM, Washington Post, Questions and Observations, Hot Air, Wall Street Journal and RealClearPolitics Video Log

Catherine Thompson / Talking Points Memo:

Obama: We Consulted Congress About Possibility Of Prisoner Swap — President Barack Obama said Tuesday that he consulted with Congress for “quite some time” about potentially trading detainees from the Guantanamo Bay facility for a U.S. soldier captured in Afghanistan.

Discussion: Sarah Palin

Noah Rothman / Mediaite:

Jeffrey Toobin: Obama ‘Clearly Broke the Law’ on Bergdahl — CNN legal analyst Jeffrey Toobin declared on Monday that President Barack Obama “broke the law” when his administration failed to give Congress notice of at least 30 days before releasing five ranking Taliban members from Guantanamo Bay.

Discussion: The Daily Caller, Hinterland Gazette, Hot Air, Lawfare and Scared Monkeys

Tom Kludt / Talking Points Memo:

Obama's National Security Team Mounts Defense Of Bergdahl Rescue — The White House National Security Council hit back hard on Tuesday against the mostly conservative critics of the prisoner swap that led to the release of Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl. — In two separate statements from Chairman …

Discussion: PoliticusUSA

Washington Post:
Was price to win release of an American soldier from Taliban captivity too high?

Discussion: New York Times, Politico, Lawfare, The Agonist and National Review

Guy Taylor / Washington Times:
EXCLUSIVE: Pentagon knew Bergdahl's whereabouts but didn't risk rescue for ‘deserter’

Discussion: Liberaland, Hot Air, Betsy's Page and Weekly Standard

James Gordon Meek / ABC News:
Vets Accuse Bowe Bergdahl of Walking Away

Discussion: Power Line, Guns.com, Real Clear Politics and The Daily Caller

Andrew Johnson / National Review:
Jeffrey Toobin: Obama ‘Clearly Broke the Law’ with Bergdahl Exchange

Discussion: Althouse

Jim Acosta / CNN:
Obama arrives in Europe, his foreign policy facing questions again

Discussion: Washington Post and Hot Air

Michael Tomasky / The Daily Beast:
Bowe Bergdahl Is the Right's New Benghazi

Discussion: Hot Air, The Daily Caller, RedState, NPR, NO QUARTER USA NET, Vermont Public Radio, Balloon Juice, Washington Post, Christian Science Monitor and The Hill

Stephen F. Hayes / Weekly Standard:
‘We Swore to an Oath and We Upheld Ours. He Did Not.’

Discussion: TPNN, The Hill, The Federalist, CNN, Bouhammer's Blog, The Hugh Hewitt Show, Gawker and BREITBART.COM

CBS News:
The five Taliban swapped for Bowe Bergdahl

Discussion: The Daily Caller, ThinkProgress, The Long War Journal, Daily Kos and Firedoglake

Daniel Bates / Daily Mail:
EXCLUSIVE - ‘A cover up just like Benghazi’: Outraged parents of officer who died hunting …

Discussion: TPNN, Power Line, Hinterland Gazette, The Gateway Pundit, CNN, TIME, Debbie Schlussel, protein wisdom, The Jawa Report, The Daily Caller, National Review, American Spectator, Hot Air and Guardian

Alexandra Jaffe / The Hill:

Will Mississippi mudslinging topple first Senate incumbent? — The Tea Party has kept its aim on Sen. Thad Cochran (R-Miss.) despite a scandal involving his wife and a supporter of his primary opponent — and he could be the first Senate incumbent to fall in Tuesday's marquee contest.

Discussion: Politico, Red Racing Horses and Washington Post

Politico: Primary day: The 7 key questions

Alexander Bolton / The Hill:
Tea Party hits Reid with ethics charge over Koch brothers

Discussion: Daily Kos, susiemadrak.com and Washington Free Beacon

Marty Graham / Reuters:

91-year-old woman finishes San Diego marathon in record time — SAN DIEGO (Reuters) - A 91-year-old woman ran a San Diego marathon on the weekend in record time for her age group, also becoming the oldest person ever to finish the race, despite lamenting she was unable to train properly because of cancer treatments.

Jason Samenow / Washington Post:

Female-named hurricanes kill more than male hurricanes because people don't respect them, study finds — People don't take hurricanes as seriously if they have a feminine name and the consequences are deadly, finds a new groundbreaking study. — Female-named storms have historically killed …

Discussion: USA Today, Los Angeles Times, Guardian, Outside the Beltway, Mashable, Liberal Values, Vermont Public Radio, Jezebel, Mediaite, Gawker, Daily Kos, MyFOX8.com and Althouse

Alexandra Jaffe / The Hill:

Democrats' new coal headache — The Environmental Protection Agency's new rule on carbon pollution is the latest headache for Democrats trying to defend a fragile Senate majority. — With many vulnerable Democrats coming from energy-producing states, Republicans argued the Obama administration's call …

Discussion: NewsBusters, Alison Lundergan Grimes … and America Rising

Timothy Cama / The Hill:
McConnell: EPA proposal ‘dagger in the heart’ of middle class

Discussion: The Raw Story and Daily Kos

Rebekah L. Sanders / Arizona Republic:

Mystery congressional candidate has legendary name — A mystery candidate for Congress with the potential to draw valuable votes in a close race has baffled longtime political watchers for months. — Democratic contenders with meticulously honed identities are battling for retiring U.S …

Discussion: Politico and The Week

Evan Wyloge / Arizona Capitol Times:
Two-time GOP loser changes party to Democrat, name to Cesar Chavez for new congressional bid

Discussion: Talking Points Memo, Yahoo! News, The Raw Story, RT, National Review, Lawyers, Guns & Money, Daily Kos and Colorlines

Aaron Blake / Washington Post:

Republicans have a mandate for their Benghazi probe — Democrats in recent weeks weighed whether to abstain from involvement in House Republicans' new Benghazi investigative committee, labeling it an unnecessary probe into questions that have already been answered. — The American people disagree.

Discussion: Hot Air and National Review

Manu Raju / Politico:

In Iowa, Rubio all in — Up until about a month ago, Marco Rubio had steered clear of Republican primaries, avoiding antagonizing one wing of the party or the other when he's probably going to need them both come 2016. — Then along came the Iowa Senate primary.