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October 22, 2015
Top Stories
Freedom Caucus Offers Support But Refuses Ryan’s Terms For Being Speaker
The Gist: Conservative hardliners in the House have agreed to vote for Paul Ryan as speaker, but say they won’t concede to his demands.
Stakes High For Clinton And GOP As Benghazi Testimony Begins At 10 AM
The Gist: After months of buildup, Hillary Clinton will finally appear as the star witness in the Republican-led investigation into the deadly 2012 attacks in Benghazi.
Universal Outrage Greets Netanyahu’s Hitler Apologism
The Gist: The Israeli Prime Minister sparked an uproar for suggesting that a Palestinian leader persuaded the Nazis to carry out the Holocaust.
From The Reporter’s Notebook
After Vice President Joe Biden announced on Wednesday that he will not run for president, Fox News host Andrea Tantaros used the moment to bring up the Benghazi scandal. She suggested that the timing of his announcement was linked to a cover-up on the part of the administration. As TPM’s Caitlin MacNeal points out, this tactic is not new for conservatives—they have long been crying “distraction” when news coverage shifts away from their pet scandal.
Agree or Disagree?
Josh Marshall thinks “ there was simply no rationale, no time and no strategy” to make a 2016 Joe Biden presidential campaign “a viable effort.”
Say What?!
“They are all in on this, and they are circling the wagons. I cannot stress this enough. This goes all the way to the West Wing, both Benghazi, and both the email scandal, and you’re watching it play out exactly today. The timing is not a coincidence!”
– Andrea Tantaros is fairly certain that Biden made his announcement today in order to distract from tomorrow’s Benghazi hearings.
BUZZING: Today in the Hive
From a TPM Prime member: “So I think I have a pretty good guess about how this confrontation will go – both have revealed their strategy: Gowdy: The Ambassador asked for security help; in return he got emails asking how best to spin the violence in Libya, Clinton: I left security to the security professionals. Again I predict Gowdy will be low-key and try to look professional. Clinton will be pretty combative. I’m not quite sure how she will handle the email issue though, other than to say she never sent emails that were classified at the time.”
Related: How Trey Gowdy went from the hunter to the hunted on Benghazi.
Have something to add? Become a Prime member and join the discussion here.
What We’re Reading
Meet the people who gave money to Lincoln Chafee’s campaign. ( NPR)
The silent season of NRA leader Wayne LaPierre. (The Trace)
The strange case of Anna Stubblefield, who fell in love with a man who has the mental capacity of a toddler. (The New York Times)
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