Benghazi Is Back! Special House Committee Holds First Hearing

Rep. Trey Gowdy, R-SC, joins Speaker of the House John Boehner, R-Ohio, right, and House Majority Leader Eric Cantor, R-Va., left, as he speaks to reporters about a bill he has sponsored that charges President Barack... Rep. Trey Gowdy, R-SC, joins Speaker of the House John Boehner, R-Ohio, right, and House Majority Leader Eric Cantor, R-Va., left, as he speaks to reporters about a bill he has sponsored that charges President Barack Obama with failing to enforce federal laws, at the Capitol in Washington, Wednesday, March 12, 2014. Casting Barack Obama as a president run amok, the Republican-led House has voted 233-181 as GOP lawmakers excoriated Obama for multiple changes to his 4-year-old health care law, steps he's taken to allow young immigrants to remain in the United States and the administration's resistance to defend the federal law banning gay marriage. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite) MORE LESS
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Benghazi will return to the forefront of the national conversation on Wednesday morning when the special Republican-led committee to investigate the 2012 attacks kicks off its first hearing.

The House select committee, announced by Speaker John Boehner (R-OH) in May, is chaired by Rep. Trey Gowdy (R-SC), a former prosecutor.

Gowdy’s topic for the first hearing is an interesting one: investigate whether the State Department implemented recommendations by the independent Accountability Review Board after the 2012 attack on a U.S. diplomatic outpost in Libya, which left four Americans dead.

It comes after Democrats have lobbed repeated accusations that the committee is a partisan witch hunt against then-Secretary of State Hillary Clinton ahead of an expected presidential run. Gowdy recently fueled those concerns by suggesting that the probe may extend beyond 2015.

“As Chairman Gowdy has said, he is willing to risk answering the same question twice rather than risk it not be answered at all,” said Jamal D. Ware, a spokesman for the panel.

“Chairman Gowdy is leading a fair, fact-based and impartial investigation. The Committee will consider all evidence, across all jurisdictions, and produce the final, definitive accounting on behalf of Congress of what happened before, during and after the terrorist attacks on our facilities in Benghazi,” he said.

The seven Republicans on the select committee are Reps. Gowdy, Susan Brooks (IN), Jim Jordan (OH), Mike Pompeo (KS), Martha Roby (AL), Peter Roskam (IL) and Lynn Westmoreland (R-GA).

The five Democrats are Reps. Elijah E. Cummings (MD), Adam Smith (WA), Adam Schiff (CA), Linda Sanchez (CA) and Tammy Duckworth (IL).

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Notable Replies

  1. “Chairman Gowdy is leading a fair, fact-based and impartial investigation.”
    First question: Did Hillary Clinton do her job after Benghazi?

  2. I’ve said it before but here it is again.

    The seven Republicans or their families or their business associates have skeletons in their closets. Find them out, no matter how personal, private or embarrassing, and reveal them. Destroy seven careers and the lives of their family members and the eighth one will think twice before acting like an ass.

  3. Because I so missed having pictures of Richie Rich/Draco Malfoy on the front page. Can’t wait for a whole bunch more. /snark

  4. Avatar for lew lew says:

    Dammit, I’m running out of popcorn and the GOTP insane clown posse that is the Presidential Primary hasn’t even started yet!

    Is it too early for Costco?

  5. THAT’S IT!! IT’S DRACO MALFOY!! I couldn’t place it. Perfect analogy too–DM was an evil wuss.

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