The witch hunt is over.
After two years and $7 million wasted dollars, the Republican led House Select Committee on Benghazi released its findings on the tragedy that claimed the lives of four Americans.
And what new information did the longest congressional investigation in American history have to report that wasn’t already included in the seven previous government investigations on the subject?
Nothing.
No…Hillary Clinton was NOT sleeping comfortably in her bed while armed militants stormed the US Mission in Benghazi.
No…Hillary Clinton did NOT know that the Benghazi attack was about to occur yet elected NOT to warn the diplomatic core stationed in the Benghazi Mission.
No…Hillary Clinton did NOT order the US military to stand down upon learning of the terrorist attack; effectively condemning the US personnel stationed there to their deaths.
In spite of their best partisan efforts the Republican leadership of this committee was unable to find any new evidence of wrongdoing on the part of the then Secretary of State or the members of her staff.
When asked what new conclusions his committee had to show for its efforts, Committee Chairman Trey Gowdy responded: “You can draw whatever conclusions you want to draw.” Make no mistake…had the committee unearthed any new damaging evidence implicating Secretary Clinton, Chairman Gowdy would have shouted it from the rooftops.
I referred to this committee as a witch hunt; because that it what it was. A prolonged witch hunt designed to inflict damage on the Obama administration and its presumptive successor to the White House. Intentionally prolonged to fan the fires of controversy well into the presidential campaign. The committee shamelessly politicized the deaths of four Americans. Period.
How else do you explain that Republican committee members routinely held meetings behind closed doors that excluded the Democratic members of the committee? How else do you explain that Republicans routinely interviewed witnesses without notifying the Democrats that these interviews were occurring? What other conclusion can you draw when Republicans routinely called on witnesses to testify without notifying the Democrats that such testimony would take place? What other opinion can you draw when Republicans routinely released documents to the press without notifying the Democrats? The committees’ final report was released to the press 12 hours before it was provided to the Democratic members of the committee.
To its credit, the committee did unearth the fact that then Secretary Clinton used her personal email account to conduct government business and housed those emails on a personal server kept in her home. This information raises serious questions about her judgement. However it has relevance in proving or disproving allegations that Secretary Clinton was complicit in the deaths of four Americans.
In the end this partisan attempt to damage the Obama administration and Secretary Clinton failed. From my perspective, the committee also failed to answer the most important question surrounding the Benghazi incident.
Why were US diplomatic personnel operating in one of the most dangerous war zones on the planet with minimal security on the premises and without any access to timely backup security should the need exist?
Yesterday, the Republican Select Committee on Benghazi issued its final report. However, ranking Democratic member Elijah Cummings told reporters that the Republican committee members are interviewing yet another witness today?
The witch hunt is over…
…but the Republican obsession with Benghazi continues.
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