memeorandum: Prisoner Deal Puts President on Defensive (New York Times)

11:35 PM ET, June 3, 2014

Top Items:

Massimo Calabresi / TIME:

White House Overrode Internal Objections To Taliban Prisoner Release — Pentagon, Intelligence officials used Top Secret intelligence to prevent previous release of Taliban Five, officials tell TIME. — To pull off the prisoner swap of five Taliban leaders for Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl …

Discussion: Hot Air, The Daily Caller, protein wisdom, The PJ Tatler and Ed Driscoll

Michael Warren / Weekly Standard:

Senate Democrats Go AWOL — On Sunday, Senator Claire McCaskill gave a full-throated defense of the president's decision to release five Taliban commanders from the Guantanamo prison in exchange for Sergeant Bowe Bergdahl. “We saved this man's life. The commander-in-chief acted within …

Discussion: Hot Air and Mediaite

The Lead with Jake Tapper:

Bergdahl's team leader: Intercepted radio chatter said he sought talks with the Taliban — (CNN) - Former Army Sgt. Evan Buetow was the team leader with Bowe Bergdahl the night Bergdahl disappeared. — “Bergdahl is a deserter, and he's not a hero,” says Buetow. “He needs to answer for what he did.”

Discussion: CNN, The Daily Caller, Business Insider, Hot Air, Washington Free Beacon, Independent Journal Review and The PJ Tatler

New York Times:

Prisoner Deal Puts President on Defensive — WASHINGTON — The White House argued on Tuesday that the “unique circumstances” presented by the opportunity to return Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl gave President Obama the authority to lawfully bypass a federal statute requiring the Pentagon to notify Congress …

Discussion: Washington Post, The Huffington Post, Washington Free Beacon and Lawfare

Alexander Bolton / The Hill:

WH apologizes to Senate intel chief for prisoner swap secret — The White House has apologized to Senate Intelligence Committee Chairwoman Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) for failing to alert her in advance of a decision to release Taliban commanders from Guantanamo Bay.

Discussion: The Moderate Voice, ThinkProgress, Hinterland Gazette, Business Insider, National Review and Viking Pundit

Fred Kaplan / Slate:

What People Don't Understand About the Bergdahl Deal — America negotiates with terrorists. These were not terrorists. And this could be the start of something big. — The news channels are blaring two misconceptions about the recovery of Army Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl …

Discussion: TPNN, Washington Monthly, Mediaite, The Dish, The Daily Caller and Hot Air

Allen West / Allen B. West:

The case for impeachment of Barack Hussein Obama — This morning on WMALs “Morning on the Mall” radio show with hosts Brian and Larry I was asked a simple question relating to the Taliban prisoner release and impeachment of the president. I responded yes that in this current case …

Discussion: Washington Post, TPNN and Daily Mail

Tom Kludt / Talking Points Memo:
Conservatives Go From Zero To Impeachment In Record Time On Bergdahl

Discussion: PoliticusUSA, Washington Post, The Raw Story and Daily Oklahoman

Rosie Gray / BuzzFeed:
Republican Strategist Helped Organize Bergdahl Critics

Discussion: Washington Post, PoliticusUSA, Hullabaloo, Hot Air, Daily Kos, Talking Points Memo, The Gateway Pundit, Mediaite, The PJ Tatler, The Hill and The Week

Abby Phillip / Washington Post:
The curious case of Bob Bergdahl's apparent tweet to the Taliban

Discussion: NBC News, PoliticusUSA, Power Line, Daily Mail, The Agonist, The Federalist, Betsy's Page, NPR, Weekly Standard, Mediaite and The Daily Beast

Catherine Thompson / Talking Points Memo:
Former POW McCain: Bergdahl Prisoner Swap A ‘Mistake’

Discussion: Washington Post, BREITBART.COM, ThinkProgress and Mediaite

John Parkinson / ABC News:
John Boehner Demands Answers From Obama on Bowe Bergdahl Prisoner Exchange

Discussion: ABC News, Slate, National Review and NBC News

New York Times:
Bowe Bergdahl's Vanishing Before Capture Angered His Unit

Elahe Izadi / NationalJournal.com:
Dianne Feinstein Disappointed Lawmakers Not Given 30-Day Notice on Bergdahl Swap

Discussion: BuzzFeed, Talking Points Memo, Politico, Obsidian Wings, Mediaite, Outside the Beltway, Hot Air and The PJ Tatler

Politico:
5 questions for the White House on Bowe Bergdahl

Discussion: ABC News and Daily Kos

Todd C. Frankel / Washington Post:
For father of released POW, growing a beard and studying captors defined the years

Discussion: BuzzFeed, Talking Points Memo, Power Line, The Raw Story, Fox News Insider, Mediaite, Guns.com, The Huffington Post and Right Wing Watch

Peter Baker / New York Times: Obama Defends Swap of Taliban for American P.O.W.

General Martin E. Dempsey / Facebook:
In response to those of you interested in my personal judgments …

Discussion: The Dish, The PJ Tatler, The Moderate Voice, The Daily Caller, Fox News Insider, The Hill, Outside the Beltway, ThinkProgress and Hot Air

Fox News:
Wartime messages to parents, fellow soldiers reveal troubled Bergdahl

Discussion: Washington Times, Daily Mail, Fox News Insider, The Daily Caller, Mediaite, protein wisdom, Politico, Joe For America, Patterico's Pontifications and Real Clear Politics

Eli Lake / The Daily Beast:
How Obama Convinced His Spies to Support the Taliban Prisoner Release

Discussion: Yahoo! News, New York Times, Washington Post, The Daily Caller, Washington Free Beacon, RedState, Just Security, Politico, Washington Times, The Dish, Hot Air, TPNN, The Hill, National Review, Fox News, Taylor Marsh and The Week

Caitlin MacNeal / Talking Points Memo: Fox Host: Bergdahl's Dad Looks ‘Like A Member Of The Taliban’ (VIDEO)

madmagazine.com:

Barack Obama's Unfortunate New Movie — Recently, President Obama exchanged five Taliban leaders for an American POW, Bowe Bergdahl. One prisoner for five is an iffy trade to begin with — but even moreso when it was revealed that Bergdahl had deserted his post.

Discussion: Power Line, The Jawa Report, NewsBusters and Ed Driscoll

The Clarion-Ledger:

LIVE BLOG: Election Day in Mississippi — With less than 30 minutes left for Mississippians to vote in the GOP primary, state Sen. Chris McDaniel took the stage at his campaign event in Hattiesburg to thank his supporters. — “This was never about me, this was never about Senator Cochran,” McDaniel said.

Discussion: Talking Points Memo

CNN:
GOP race down to the wire in Mississippi

Discussion: Politico

David Weigel / Slate:
Thad Cochran and the Age Issue That No One Wants to Talk About

Discussion: FiveThirtyEight, Washington Post, Yahoo! News, Washington Monthly, Wall Street Journal and American Spectator

Charles P. Pierce / Esquire:

THE BERGDAHL CHRONICLES: WELCOME HOME, CREEP … Over at the intersection of Unemployable Boulevard and Legacy Hire Way, the kidz and their recess monitors are busily fashioning a yellow ribbon into a noose for Bowe Bergdahl, whom they congratulate for being home so that they can calumnize him …

Discussion: National Review and Hullabaloo

Andrew McCarthy / National Review:
The Taliban Swap and ‘High Crimes and Misdemeanors’

Discussion: Vermont Public Radio and Wall Street Journal

CNN:

CNN Poll: Public upset over VA scandal; Obama remains at 43% — Washington (CNN) - Nearly six in ten Americans give President Barack Obama a thumbs-down on how he is handling the Veterans Affairs controversy, according to a new national poll. — But a CNN/ORC International survey released Tuesday indicates …

Discussion: Politico and Real Clear Politics

Aaron Blake / Washington Post:
Republicans have a mandate for their Benghazi probe

Discussion: Washington Monthly, Hot Air, Booman Tribune and National Review

Washington Post:
June 2014 Washington Post-ABC News poll

Discussion: CNN, Outside the Beltway, Business Insider, Mediaite, YG Network, Politico, Firedoglake and Hot Air

Maureen Dowd / New York Times:

Don't Harsh Our Mellow, Dude — The caramel-chocolate flavored candy bar looked so innocent, like the Sky Bars I used to love as a child. — Sitting in my hotel room in Denver, I nibbled off the end and then, when nothing happened, nibbled some more. I figured if I was reporting …

Discussion: Gawker, Balloon Juice, National Review, The Latest Word and Firedoglake

Tom Jensen / Public Policy Polling:

Wolf leads Corbett by 25, PA supports gay marriage — PPP's first poll of the general election for Governor in Pennsylvania finds a race that isn't remotely competitive. Democratic challenger Tom Wolf leads Republican incumbent Tom Corbett 55/30. Wolf's 25 point lead has more than doubled …

Discussion: Talking Points Memo, PoliticusUSA and Daily Kos

Jonathan Chait Follow / New York Magazine:

Conservatives Searching for New Reasons Not to Save Planet — They are on the cusp of a breakthrough. — The Wall Street Journal editorial page today has a predictably scathing take on President Obama's climate-change plan. In a brief aside to the main argument — regulation baaaaad …

Discussion: Hot Air, Grist, Legal Planet, Guardian, Wall Street Journal and Bloomberg View

www.wftv.com:

Brevard judge tells attorney, 'I'll beat your ass,' allegedly throws punches — BREVARD COUNTY, Fla. — Court deputies had to break up a physical fight between a Brevard County judge and a public defender after an argument during a hearing on Monday. — Judge John Murphy is accused …

Discussion: Florida Today, The Daily Banter, ThinkProgress, Gawker, TalkLeft, The Week, Yahoo! News, The Raw Story, Mediaite and MyFOX8.com

Ellen Gabler / JSOnline:

Charges detail Waukesha pre-teens' attempt to kill classmate — By Ellen Gabler of the Journal Sentinel — The 12-year-old girls had been plotting the murder for months, police say. — Morgan E. Geyser was allowed to have two friends over each year for her birthday. This year, she'd celebrate on May 30.