As numerous Democrats have moved to discredit the House Select Committee on Benghazi after House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy’s (R-CA) “gaffe,” Rep. Alan Grayson (D-FL) on Wednesday morning filed an ethics complaint against McCarthy and Rep. Trey Gowdy (R-SC), the chairman of the Benghazi panel, Roll Call reported.
“This represents the new McCarthyism — the misuse of [official] funds for political purposes to vilify a political opponent,” Grayson told Roll Call.
In a three-page letter to the Office of Congressional Ethics, Grayson referenced McCarthy’s comment last week about the Benghazi committee’s success in hurting Hillary Clinton politically and said that the comment signals a misuse of funds. Grayson also said that Gowdy has dragged out the investigation in an attempt to hurt Clinton, noting that the committee hasn’t held a hearing since January.
“Congressman Gowdy evidently has dragged out the work of the Committee so that it would coincide with the Democratic Presidential Primary race. In the meantime, the Committee under Gowdy’s leadership has subpoenaed State Department employees and others close to former Secretary Clinton, in an apparent effort to generate anti-Clinton information and disinformation,” he wrote.
Rep. Louise Slaughter (D-NY) on Tuesday filed an amendment to disband the Benghazi committee, but the amendment failed in the House Rules Committee.
