Washington Examiner’s Byron York Says Benghazi Hearing Was A ‘Bust’

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After the House Select Committee on Benghazi concluded its 11-hour long hearing with Hillary Clinton, a few conservative commentators bemoaned that the testimony didn’t turn up any results.

The Washington Examiner’s Byron York wrote on Thursday that while he thinks the members of the committee still need certain information from Clinton, the hearing devolved into a spectacle.

“There’s a reason Benghazi Committee chairman Rep. Trey Gowdy offered Hillary Clinton the chance to testify in a private, closed hearing. And there’s a reason Clinton wanted to appear in an open setting, with the whole world watching,” he wrote.

York said that the hearing was sidetracked by partisan bickering and questions about side issues.

“The result was a marathon hearing that didn’t accomplish much,” he wrote.

York also lamented that Republicans on the committee had a “near-obsession” with Sidney Blumenthal, a longtime Clinton ally who sent Hillary Clinton emails about Libya while she was secretary of state.

“So a hearing billed as an epic, High Noon-style confrontation — granted, the hype came from the media, not Republican committee members themselves — instead turned out to be a somewhat interesting look at a few limited aspects of the Benghazi affair,” he concluded. “In other words, no big deal. And that is very, very good news for Hillary Clinton.”

Conservative commentator Erick Erickson was also unhappy with the results of the hearing it, calling it “a waste of time” and “a political spectacle.”

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Notable Replies

  1. Avatar for dv01 dv01 says:

    “So a hearing billed as an epic, High Noon-style confrontation — granted, the hype came from the media, not Republican committee members themselves — instead turned out to be a somewhat interesting look at a few limited aspects of the Benghazi affair,” he concluded. “In other words, no big deal. And that is very, very good news for Hillary Clinton.”

    So begins the retreat. First, blame the media. Soon enough, we’ll hear the complaints that HRC ‘deflected’ questions. Finally, Benghazi will assume its rightful place next to the grassy knoll, where we’ll ‘never’ know the truth.

  2. Avatar for mcbain mcbain says:

    Bust is an understatement. It was a disaster for the GOP and a gift to Hillary. Total fail.

  3. “It is a tale
    Told by an idiot, full of sound and fury,
    Signifying nothing.”
    - Shakespeare, Macbeth, Act 5, Scene V

    Well, as least we didn’t have to explain to the kids what a blowjob is this time.

    Another awkward moment averted.

    Thanks, Congress!

  4. Avatar for sooner sooner says:

    Odd, I was saying the exact same thing.

    However it did put on display the raging impotency of Gowdie Doodie and his GOTP nimrods.

  5. Avatar for pine pine says:

    Side note regarding the hearing I’m hearing commentators say "And Trump is complaining about a (3) hour debate ? ".

    IMO Hillary won in so many ways and was up this morning speaking to a Womens Group,You go Girl ! said RESPECTFULLY .

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