memeorandum: Abdication has a price — Yes, it is true that there was no al-Qaeda … (Charles Krauthammer/Washington Post)

3:15 PM ET, June 20, 2014

Top Items:

Exclusive: ‘Hillary Clinton Took Me Through Hell,’ Rape Victim Says — The woman at the center of the scandal over Hillary Clinton's defense of an alleged child rapist speaks out in depth for the first time. — Hillary Clinton is known as a champion of women and girls …

Scott Wilson / Washington Post:

President Obama took credit in 2012 for withdrawing all troops from Iraq. Today he said something different. — President Obama surprised a few people during a news conference Thursday by claiming that the 2011 decision to withdraw all U.S. forces from Iraq, a politically popular move …

Discussion: Fox News, Hot Air, Questions and Observations, The PJ Tatler, Patterico's Pontifications and Ed Driscoll

Charles Krauthammer / Washington Post: Abdication has a price — Yes, it is true that there was no al-Qaeda …

Fareed Zakaria / Washington Post:
An enclave strategy for Iraq

Discussion: New York Times and Lawfare

James Oliphant / NationalJournal.com:
Welcome to the White House's Nightmare

Discussion: Washington Post and National Review

John B. Judis / The New Republic:
Obama Has Two Options on Iraq. Both Are Terrible.

Discussion: Informed Comment, The Dish, News Desk and American Power

David S. Joachim / New York Times:

I.R.S. Head and Lawmakers Clash Over Missing Email — WASHINGTON — A Congressional hearing examining how the Internal Revenue Service lost thousands of emails sought by investigators turned into a shouting match on Friday, with Republicans on the panel accusing the I.R.S. commissioner of lying.

Discussion: Power Line

Fox News:

IRS boss refuses to apologize over ‘cover-up’ claims ahead of Hill hearing on missing emails — June 10, 2014: Internal Revenue Service (IRS) Commissioner John Koskinen speaks at IRS headquarters in Washington.AP — IRS Commissioner John Koskinen said Friday there is no need for his agency …

Discussion: Fox News Insider, Business Insider, Hot Air and The Gateway Pundit

Economist:

A dog ate my e-mails — IF YOUR taxes are being audited and you tell the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) that you just so happen to have lost the records relating to the period in question, you cannot expect much sympathy. The taxman has heard it all before, and “the dog ate my accounts” gets you nowhere.

Discussion: ProfessorBainbridge.com

Ed Morrissey / Hot Air:
IRS commissioner: You know, e-mail isn't necessarily an “official record”; Update: IRS Manual says it is

Discussion: Power Line, The Daily Caller, Weekly Standard, Ed Driscoll, The PJ Tatler and Politico

Parade:

The President and Michelle Obama on Work, Family, and Juggling It All — This week, America's foreign policy is dominating the headlines, but it's the White House's second-term domestic agenda that's the focus of our Parade cover story. On Monday, June 23, the President and Mrs. Obama …

Discussion: Talking Points Memo, Wall Street Journal, CNN, Politico, ABC News, PoliticusUSA, The Raw Story, National Review, The Week and The Huffington Post

Washington Post:

Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker suspected of coordinating with outside groups — Gov. Scott Walker (R-Wis.) responds to prosecutors allegations that he is connected to a criminal scheme over campaign fundraising. In a statement, he called the allegations “categorically false.” ( AP)

Discussion: New York Magazine, Prairie Weather, Power Line and The Moderate Voice

New York Times:
Wisconsin Governor at Center of a Vast Fund-Raising Case

Discussion: NewsBusters, Washington Post, Taylor Marsh, The Mahablog, Commentary Magazine, Althouse and JSOnline

Eric Lach / Talking Points Memo:

Shadowy Obama Megadonor Indicted On Fraud And Manslaughter Charges — A California grand jury has indicted Kareem Ahmed, a major donor to President Obama's 2012 re-election campaign, and 15 of Ahmed's associates in an alleged multimillion-dollar insurance kickback scheme.

Discussion: scpr.org, The Daily Caller, Mediaite and Washington Free Beacon

ThinkProgress:

Virginia Governor Bucks GOP, Will Unilaterally Expand Medicaid — Gov. Terry McAuliffe delivering his inaugural address. — CREDIT: AP Images/Patrick Semansky — Virginia Gov. Terry McAuliffe (D) plans to move forward with Medicaid expansion even without lawmakers' support, the governor announced on Friday.

Discussion: The Dixie Pig, Blue Virginia and Washington Post

Tim Alberta / NationalJournal.com:

Jeb Hensarling Sees ‘Green Light’ to Run for Leadership in November — When he rejected conservative pleas to campaign for Cantor's job, the Texan wasn't saying no to a promotion. He was just saying, not now. — House conservatives fretted their failure to recruit Rep. Jeb Hensarling …

Discussion: The Daily Caller

Simon Maloy / Salon:
GOP's sudden scandal-mania: Why criminal probes and infighting are taking over the party

Discussion: Washington Post

New York Times:

Cochran Asking Blacks to Rescue Him in Republican Primary — JACKSON, Miss. — Bishop Ronnie C. Crudup stood before roughly a dozen of his colleagues at a weekly Baptist fellowship meeting last week and asked for their help in a fight that, until now, would have been unthinkable for a black pastor …

Discussion: Washington Monthly, BREITBART.COM and Washington Post

Benjamin Weiser / New York Times:

5 Exonerated in Central Park Jogger Case Will Settle Suit for $40 Million — The five men whose convictions in the brutal 1989 beating and rape of a female jogger in Central Park were later overturned have agreed to a settlement of about $40 million from New York City to resolve …

Discussion: NY Daily News, Guardian, The Week, Gawker, Outside the Beltway, Althouse, Washington Post and Shakesville

Paul Krugman / New York Times:

The Hype Behind the Health Care Scandal — You've surely heard about the scandal at the Department of Veterans Affairs. A number of veterans found themselves waiting a long time for care, some of them died before they were seen, and some of the agency's employees falsified records to cover up the extent of the problem.

Andrew Moseman / Popular Mechanics:

Harley—Yes, Harley—is Making an Electric Motorcycle — Electric motorcycles have been a niche space for California startups building mean, low-volume machines for buyers who want to save the world on two wheels. That is about to change. Today, Harley-Davidson (yes, that Harley-Davidson …

Justin McCarthy / Gallup:

Approval of Obama's Handling of Immigration Falls to 31% — Americans' approval falls eight percentage points since August — WASHINGTON, D.C. — Americans' approval of President Barack Obama's handling of immigration has dropped to 31%, one of the lowest readings since 2010, when Gallup began polling on his handling of the issue.

Discussion: Hot Air, Real Clear Politics, The Other McCain, Firedoglake, Politico, Business Insider, American Power and Washington Post

Kurtis Lee / Denver Post:

HICKENLOOPER SILENT ON GUN LAW COMMENTS; SUPPORTERS AND FOES BAFFLED — After several days of fallout over his comments on gun control laws to a recent gathering of county sheriffs, Gov. John Hickenlooper has managed to baffle both victims-rights advocates and Second Amendment supporters.

Discussion: The Spot, Clayton Cramer and RedState

Byron York / Washington Examiner:

Why Obamacare ‘good news’ applies only to the poor — BARACK OBAMA OBAMACARE HEALTH CARE HHS — To hear administration officials and their supporters in the press tell it, this is a great time for Obamacare. People who signed up for coverage are actually paying for it …

Discussion: The Dish