memeorandum: Why The Five Taliban Detainees Had To Be Released Soon, No Matter What (ThinkProgress)

5:25 AM ET, June 3, 2014

Top Items:

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: his vorpal sword, Yahoo! News, Mediaite, The Daily Caller, Independent Journal Review, Hot Air, The Jawa Report, The Gateway Pundit, BREITBART.COM, National Review and The PJ Tatler

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: CNN

Michael Tomasky / The Daily Beast:

Bowe Bergdahl Is the Right's New Benghazi — Buckle up: The right is going to try to turn the Taliban prisoner swap for ‘deserter’ Bowe Bergdahl into a Willie Horton moment for the president—and they'll ride it to January 2017. — So let's imagine that on Saturday night …

Discussion: Yahoo! News, RedState, The Daily Caller, NO QUARTER USA NET, NPR, Balloon Juice, The Federalist, Washington Post, Christian Science Monitor, The Dish and Defense One

Stephen F. Hayes / Weekly Standard:

‘We Swore to an Oath and We Upheld Ours. He Did Not.’ — The Obama administration is facing mounting questions about the controversial prisoner swap that freed Army Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl from jihadists in Pakistan in exchange for the transfer and ultimate release of five senior Taliban commanders previously held in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.

Discussion: TPNN, Gawker, CNN and The Hugh Hewitt Show

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

Discussion: Power Line, Hinterland Gazette, The Hugh Hewitt Show, The Gateway Pundit, CNN, American Spectator, National Review, The Daily Caller, Hot Air, Guardian, Joe For America, Yahoo! News, Talking Points Memo, Independent Journal Review, Outside the Beltway, Politico, No More Mister Nice Blog and Mediaite

Mark Thompson / TIME:
The 6 U.S. Soldiers Who Died Searching For Bowe Bergdahl

Discussion: Washington Free Beacon, Liberaland, Debbie Schlussel, The Jawa Report, National Review, Weekly Standard and The Gateway Pundit

CBS News:
The five Taliban swapped for Bowe Bergdahl

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

ThinkProgress:
Why The Five Taliban Detainees Had To Be Released Soon, No Matter What

Discussion: The Week, New York Times, PoliticusUSA and Lawfare

Jeryl Bier / Weekly Standard:
Jay Carney, 2013: No Decisions About Bergdahl-Detainee Deal ‘Without Consulting With Congress’

Discussion: Hot Air, Washington Free Beacon, protein wisdom, Mediaite and The Hill

Associated Press:
US concluded in 2010 that Bergdahl walked away

Discussion: TPNN, JustOneMinute, National Review, The Agonist and Hot Air

Evan Wyloge / Arizona Capitol Times:

Two-time GOP loser changes party to Democrat, name to Cesar Chavez for new congressional bid — Scott Fistler didn't have much luck as a Republican candidate. He lost a 2012 write-in campaign against U.S. Rep. Ed Pastor, then lost a 2013 bid for a Phoenix city council seat now held by Laura Pastor, Ed's daughter.

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

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

Catherine Thompson / Talking Points Memo: GOPer Changes Name To Cesar Chavez, Becomes A Dem To Run In Heavily Hispanic District

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, Mashable, Jezebel, Vermont Public Radio, Liberal Values, Mediaite, Gawker, MyFOX8.com, Daily Kos and Althouse

Alexander Bolton / The Hill:

Tea Party hits Reid with ethics charge over Koch brothers — Tea Party Patriots has filed a complaint against Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) with the Senate Ethics Committee to protest his repeated attacks against Charles and David Koch. — Jenny Beth Martin …

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

Timothy Cama / The Hill:

McConnell: EPA proposal ‘dagger in the heart’ of middle class — Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) lambasted the Obama administration's proposed regulation to limit carbon emissions from power plants, saying the middle class will bear the brunt of the rules.

Discussion: The Raw Story and Daily Kos

Burgess Everett / Politico:
Alison Lundergan Grimes to hold D.C. fundraiser with Harry Reid

Discussion: The Hill and Washington Free Beacon

Nathan Fenno / Los Angeles Times:

Football Hall of Famer Dan Marino sues NFL over concussions — Sports Now — Sports news from Los Angeles and beyond

Discussion: Mediaite, ThinkProgress and The MMQB with Peter King

Adam Liptak / New York Times:

No Easy Way to Be Fair on Media Credentials — WASHINGTON — Scotusblog has covered the Supreme Court in depth and with distinction since 2002. It wins journalism awards at a steady clip. Its main reporter, Lyle Denniston, is an old-school journalist of fearsome integrity and independence.

Associated Press:
Justices reject reporter's bid to protect source

Discussion: Booman Tribune and Politico

Adam Liptak / New York Times:
Supreme Court Rejects Appeal From Reporter Over Identity of Source

Discussion: Reuters, Informed Comment, Outside the Beltway, RT, Washington Post, Wall Street Journal, Freedom of the Press …, emptywheel, NPR, Hit & Run and Poynter

Mark Follman / Mother Jones:

Fearing Rising Backlash, NRA Urges Gun Activists to Stand Down — Carrying assault rifles into restaurants backfired—and now the gun lobby is firing at its own for acting “downright weird.” — THE LAST COUPLE OF MONTHS have been rough for proponents of open-carry gun laws.

Discussion: Talking Points Memo, The Daily Banter, Business Insider, Gawker, Mediaite, Texas Politics, Joe. My. God. and The Raw Story

Eric Lach / Talking Points Memo:
NRA Issues Amazing Statement Admitting Bringing AR-15s To Chipotle Is Dumb

Discussion: Wall Street Journal, Texas Politics, Guardian, Hullabaloo, The Moderate Voice, Daily Kos, Mashable, Bloomberg View, PoliticusUSA, Hot Air, Washington Free Beacon, The Raw Story, Guns.com, Balloon Juice and The Week

Sarah Palin / Facebook:

Commander-in-Chief's Definition of “Honorable Service” Includes Anti-American Actions While in Uniform; He Just Destroyed Troop Morale — The Obama administration tells America this soldier served “with honor and distinction.” (http://www.weeklystandard.com/blogs/ susan-rice-bergdahl-served-honor-and- distinction_794066.html)

Discussion: Politico, Mediaite, The Gateway Pundit, PoliticusUSA and Little Green Footballs

Tom Kludt / Talking Points Memo:
Palin Bashes Bergdahl For His ‘Horrid Anti-American Beliefs’

Discussion: National Review, Fox News, Power Line, PJ Media, Lawfare, Washington Post, Anderson Cooper 360 and Washington Monthly

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, Lawfare and Hot Air

Associated Press:

Seattle OKs $15 minimum wage — SEATTLE — The Seattle City Council unanimously passed an ordinance Monday that gradually increases the minimum wage in the city to $15, which would make it the highest in the nation. — The issue has dominated politics in the liberal municipality for months …

Discussion: Hot Air

Michael Wilner / Reuters:

Israel ‘disappointed’ that US will work with Palestinian unity government — State Department says no plans to cut off aid despite some US lawmakers' comments to the contrary, says the US “will be judging this government by its actions.” — Israel said on Monday it was “deeply disappointed” …

Discussion: Israel Matzav and American Spectator

Jonathan Choe / myfoxtwincities.com:

CHARGES: Neighbor, 61, pulls gun on father teaching girl to ride bike — It's yet another instance of a neighbor puling a gun on a neighbor. This time, it happened in Rosemount, Minn. while a father was teaching his 7-year-old daughter how to ride a bicycle.

Discussion: Booman Tribune and The Raw Story

Jonathan Chait Follow / New York Magazine:

Obama Makes His Bid to Become the Environmental President — Time to admit he's done a lot to stop climate change. — The Obama administration's announcement today of new regulations on power plants does not mean that it has saved the planet. It does not even mean that we have necessarily bought time to save the planet.

Discussion: Washington Post, Financial Times, Washington Monthly, Lawyers, Guns & Money and Grist