Republican Sens. John McCain (R-AZ), Lindsey Graham (R-SC) and Kelly Ayotte (R-NH) issued a letter on Tuesday ahead of the State of the Union address requesting that President Obama answer whether he personally sought help from the Libyian government on the night of the deadly attacks in Benghazi last year.
Read the full letter below:
Dear Mr. President:
On September 11, 2012, four brave Americans were killed at the United States Mission in Benghazi, Libya. Over the past five months, the Senate has received testimony from several members of your Administration about this deadly terrorist attack, including from the Secretary of State, Secretary of Defense, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and the State Department’s Accountability Review Board. Nevertheless, a number of serious questions about the failed American response remain unanswered.
It is critical that we have a full understanding of American actions taken before, during, and after the attack. While we cannot change history, the lessons we learn can help prevent such a tragedy from happening again.
For this reason, we write to ask you to respond in writing to the following question at your earliest convenience:
· During the eight hours the U.S. mission was under attack, did you personally speak with any officials in the Libyan government to request assistance for our American personnel?
Thank you for your attention to this important matter. We look forward to your response.
