memeorandum: RISE IN FEMALE GENITAL MUTILATION, INSPECTORS FIND ENTIRE SCHOOL CLASSES VICTIMS (M.E. Synon/BREITBART.COM)

1:20 AM ET, June 21, 2014

Top Items:

Rachael Bade / Politico:

IRS chief defiant on Lois Lerner email loss — A defiant IRS Commissioner on Friday refused to apologize for the loss of ex-IRS official Lois Lerner's emails, and said the agency produced what they could, at a combative hearing marked by accusations by Republicans of IRS deceit.

Discussion: ABC News, RedState, Techdirt and Independent Journal Review

David S. Joachim / New York Times:

Republicans, at Hearing on Lost Emails, Accuse I.R.S. Chief of Lying — 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

Ed Morrissey / Hot Air:
White House notified of missing IRS e-mail 6 weeks before Congress?

Discussion: Sister Toldjah

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

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

Susan Jones / CNSNews:
White House Learned of Lerner's Crashed Hard Drive 6 Weeks Before Congress

Discussion: Weasel Zippers and protein wisdom

Fox News:
IRS boss refuses to apologize over ‘cover-up’ claims ahead of Hill hearing on missing emails

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

Simon Maloy / Salon:

GOP's sudden scandal-mania: Why criminal probes and infighting are taking over the party — From Walker and Christie's falls from grace, to revived Tea Party hostility, here's why the party is coming apart — It's fashionable right now to talk about the premature end of Barack Obama's presidency.

Discussion: JSOnline and The Mahablog

Katie Glueck / Politico:
Kevin McCarthy to F&F crowd: Come visit

Discussion: Washington Post

Tim Alberta / NationalJournal.com:
Jeb Hensarling Sees ‘Green Light’ to Run for Leadership in November

Discussion: The Daily Caller and Hot Air

Josh Rogin / The Daily Beast:

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 …

Matthew Continetti / Washington Free Beacon:

Hillary's People — The facts are these. In 1975, before she married Bill Clinton, Hillary Rodham defended a child rapist in Arkansas court. She was not a public defender. No one ordered her to take the case. An ambitious young lawyer, she was asked by a friend if she would represent the accused, and she agreed.

Discussion: Hit & Run, Business Insider, Washington Post, Weekly Standard, protein wisdom, Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion and Hot Air

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, Independent Journal Review, American Power, Questions and Observations, Hot Air, The Lonely Conservative, The PJ Tatler and Patterico's Pontifications

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

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

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

Discussion: Power Line, The Daily Caller and National Review

Congressman Steve Stockman:

Stockman bill allows taxpayers to use same lame excuses as IRS — WASHINGTON — Taxpayers who do not produce documents for the Internal Revenue Service will be able to offer a variety of dubious excuses under legislation introduced by Rep. Steve Stockman (R-TX 36) a week after the IRS offered …

Discussion: Hot Air, Weasel Zippers and Independent Journal Review

Economist:
A dog ate my e-mails

Discussion: Washington Post and ProfessorBainbridge.com

M.E. Synon / BREITBART.COM:

RISE IN FEMALE GENITAL MUTILATION, INSPECTORS FIND ENTIRE SCHOOL CLASSES VICTIMS — School health services in the small Swedish city of Norrköping have found 60 cases of female genital mutilation (FGM) among schoolgirls since March, with evidence of mutilation found in all 30 girls in one class, 28 of the most severe form.

Discussion: Allen B. West and Vox Popoli

Igor Volsky / ThinkProgress:

Rick Santorum Explains Why Ronald Reagan Would Be ‘Appalled’ By Today's GOP — “Rick Santorum Explains Why Ronald Reagan Would Be ‘Appalled’ By Today's GOP” Share: — Rick Santorum appeared to make the case for greater government involvement during a speech at the Faith & Freedom Coalition on Friday …

Discussion: Hullabaloo

Dana Ford / CNN:

Presbyterians vote to allow same-sex marriage — The Rev. Tony Larsen and his partner, Craig Matheus, are refused a marriage license by Racine County Clerk Wendy Christensen, right, in the clerk's office in Racine, Wisconsin, on Friday, June 13. The county does not grant marriage licenses …

Discussion: Daily Kos

Laurie Goodstein / New York Times:
Presbyterians Vote to Allow Same-Sex Marriages

Discussion: Mediaite, Washington Monthly, Christianity Today, Public Religion Research …, Political Insider blog, The Week, Shakesville and ABC News

Jeffrey Goldberg / The Atlantic Online:

The New Map of the Middle East — So as I was saying.... First, a bit of housekeeping. I'm back at The Atlantic full-time. I'm going to be working mainly on stories for the magazine (I'm thinking of writing something on the case for reparations, for instance), but I'll …

Discussion: The Dish, New York Times and Washington Post

David Wasserman / FiveThirtyEight:

What We Can Learn From Eric Cantor's Defeat — On May 30, 11 days before one of the biggest upsets in modern American politics blocked Majority Leader Eric Cantor's path to speaker of the House, one of his top aides emailed me in an unusually defensive tone.

Discussion: Washington Monthly and Democratic Strategist

IC ON THE RECORD:

Joint Statement From the Office of the Director of National Intelligence and the Department of Justice on the Declassification of Renewal of Collection Under Section 501 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act — June 20, 2014 — Earlier this year in a speech at the Department of Justice …

Discussion: Techdirt and Politico

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 Right Scoop, Weasel Zippers, The Daily Caller, Mediaite and Washington Free Beacon

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

New York Times:

U.S. Moves to Stop Surge in Illegal Immigration — McALLEN, Tex. — White House officials, saying that misinformation about administration policies helped drive a surge of illegal migrants from Central America across the South Texas border, on Friday announced plans to detain …

Discussion: Hot Air, BuzzFeed, Politico, Los Angeles Times, Washington Post, Sister Toldjah, ThinkProgress, CNN, CBS Dallas, The Verge and The Lonely Conservative

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