Top Dem On Benghazi Committee: Shut It All Down!

FILE - In this May 12, 2015, file photo, Rep. Adam Schiff, D-Calif., ranking member on the House Intelligence Committee, speaks during an interview with The Associated Press in Washington. The lobbying fight is on to... FILE - In this May 12, 2015, file photo, Rep. Adam Schiff, D-Calif., ranking member on the House Intelligence Committee, speaks during an interview with The Associated Press in Washington. The lobbying fight is on to persuade lawmakers to vote for or against the nuclear deal the U.S. and other world powers just signed with Iran.(AP Photo/Alex Brandon, File) MORE LESS
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A top Democrat serving on the House committee on Benghazi accused the panel’s leaders of abusing its purpose and called for the committee’s dissolution in a Friday op-ed.

Rep. Adam Schiff (D-CA) wrote in The New York Times that the committee has abandoned any pretense of investigating the 2012 terrorist attacks in Libya and become “little more than a partisan tool to influence the presidential race” instead.

“Whatever their original purpose, the Select Committee’s leaders appear no longer to have any interest in Benghazi,” he wrote, “except as the tragic events of that day may be used as a cudgel against the likely Democratic nominee for president,” Hillary Clinton.

Schiff argued that sets a “dangerous precedent” by which Congressional committees could attack other likely presidential nominees in the future.

The California Democrat also drew attention to the the amount of money — $4 million in taxpayer dollars — and the amount of time — 16 months — the committee has spent ostensibly investigating the Benghazi attacks without gleaning any “additional insight” into what happened there on Sept. 11, 2012.

“A committee that cannot tell the American people what it is looking for after 16 months should be shut down,” Schiff concluded. “Otherwise, Benghazi will come to be remembered not for the tragedy that claimed four American lives, but for the terrible abuse of process that now bears its name.”

Schiff’s op-ed was published as the Benghazi committee interviewed two top Clinton aides, Cheryl Mills and Jake Sullivan, behind closed doors. It also came on the heels of the news that a former State Department staffer who helped Clinton set up a private email server in her Chappaqua, New York home invoked his Fifth Amendment right not to testify before the committee.

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  1. Avatar for phd9 phd9 says:

    The magic words “Behind closed doors” Selective deceptive leaks to follow. Oh wait…

  2. Elijah Cummings weighs in. This whole “investigation” is a crock.

    WASHINGTON—Today, Rep. Elijah E. Cummings, Ranking Member of the Select Committee on Benghazi, released the following statement after the completion of the Committee’s transcribed interview of former State Department Chief of Staff, Cheryl Mills:
    "After listening to many hours of testimony with Cheryl Mills today, I believe every single American should be able to read this transcript as soon as possible.

    "The American people should be able to see for themselves that none of the wild Republican allegations against Secretary Clinton have been substantiated.

    "The Secretary did not personally authorize cables that reduced the State Department’s security in Libya, and she did not order the military to stand-down, as some have alleged.

    "Ms. Mills answered every single question thoroughly, and she handled herself as a consummate professional. I thank her for her service.

    "I also believe the Committee should immediately release the transcript of Sidney Blumenthal’s deposition, but the Chairman has refused to schedule a vote—as House Rules require—and instead has insisted on keeping that testimony secret too, even as the Committee selectively leaks other documents out of context.

    "Unfortunately, it appears that the Select Committee has shelved its core work on Benghazi to focus almost exclusively on Secretary Clinton and her aides in an effort to attack her bid for president.

    "The Committee has not held a single hearing since January—more than eight months ago. We were supposed to have hearings with the Defense Department and the intelligence agencies, but we never had them. To be clear, these were hearings the Chairman himself was planning to hold.

    "Instead, over the past 16 months, the Committee has spent more than four million dollars, but we have held only three hearings and fewer than 50 interviews—one of the least productive congressional investigations in history.

    “This severe misuse of taxpayer resources and Congressional power has done very little to help protect our diplomats around the world.”

  3. This whole thing has been a sham. Like nearly every scandal of the Clinton and Obama Administrations, they amount to nothing really except for the GOP going on fishing expeditions. This includes the whole email scandal which, so far, no one has actually proven was criminal.

  4. This summarizes the folly of this “investigation” and should be emphasized for the benefit of the party of fiscal responsibility

    After 16 months and more than $4 million, the committee has gained no additional insight into the attacks in Benghazi. It has nothing new to tell the families of those killed or the American people.

  5. Avatar for dnl dnl says:

    Gotta love those fickle Cons…spending money hands over fists.

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