A Republican, who formerly served as an investigator for the House Select Committee on Benghazi, confirmed that his GOP bosses are conducting an illegal investigation for partisan political purposes that is targeting Hillary Clinton
A former investigator for the Republicans on the House Select Committee on Benghazi plans to file a complaint in federal court next month alleging that he was fired unlawfully in part because his superiors opposed his efforts to conduct a comprehensive investigation into the 2012 attack on the American diplomatic mission in the Libyan city rather than focus primarily on the role of the State Department and former Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton.
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Despite the change in focus, Major Podliska continued to work on his examination of the response in Washington to the attack, only to meet escalating resistance from his superiors, according to his complaint. In his view, they felt he was not focusing enough on Mrs. Clinton’s alleged mistakes, a criticism he considered odd given that his findings were far from favorable to her.
What Major Podliska described is an illegal use of taxpayer funds to conduct a partisan political investigation into the likely 2016 Democratic nominee.
The resolution that authorized the Select Committee does not give Republicans the power to investigate Hillary Clinton’s email server. The Select Committee is authorized to examine, “internal and public executive branch communications about the attacks on United States facilities in Benghazi, Libya, on September 11, 2012.”
The Select Committee is not authorized to investigate Hillary Clinton or her use of a private email server. By redirecting the investigation to focus on Clinton, House Republicans are illegally misusing taxpayer funds for partisan political purposes.
The ranking member of the Select Committee, Rep. Elijah Cummings (D-MD) said in a statement, “These are extremely serious whistleblower charges by one of Chairman Gowdy’s own handpicked investigators who reports that he was fired in part for not going along with the Republican leadership’s plan to use the Select Committee to target Hillary Clinton, and they show—from the inside—that Kevin McCarthy’s stark admission was true: Republicans have been abusing millions of taxpayer dollars for the illegitimate purpose of damaging Hillary Clinton’s bid for president.”
Benghazi Select Committee member, Rep. Adam Schiff (D-CA) called for the committee to be shut down, “Even before Kevin McCarthy’s comments laid bare the true intent of the committee, it’s been clear that Secretary Clinton has been the true target of this investigation, and the Republican whistleblower who has come forward only provides further evidence of what has been long evident. It’s time to shut down the Benghazi Select Committee. Only by ending this expensive and politicized investigation can we begin to undo the damage already done through this unprecedented use of Congress’s power for nakedly political purposes.”
It is time for an investigation into the House Select Committee on Benghazi. Even committee chairman Rep. Trey Gowdy’s own former investigator is exposing the partisan intent of the investigation.
House Republicans have abused their power, and they must be held accountable for their corruption.
Jason is the managing editor. He is also a White House Press Pool and a Congressional correspondent for PoliticusUSA. Jason has a Bachelor’s Degree in Political Science. His graduate work focused on public policy, with a specialization in social reform movements.
Awards and Professional Memberships
Member of the Society of Professional Journalists and The American Political Science Association
