Democrats on the House Select Committee on Benghazi have released a damning 124-page report that finds no evidence of wrongdoing by Hillary Clinton, but a mountain of proof that the Republican-led investigation is a partisan sham.
According to the Democrat Staff Report on the Select Committee:
In stark contrast to these baseless political attacks, the 54 individuals who have now been interviewed by the Select Committee have identified:
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– no evidence that Secretary Clinton ordered the military to stand down on the night of the attacks;
– no evidence that Secretary Clinton personally approved or ordered a reduction of security in Benghazi prior to the attacks;
– no evidence that Secretary Clinton pressed the United States into supporting the United Nations campaign in Libya under false pretenses;
– no evidence that Secretary Clinton or her aides oversaw an operation at the State Department to destroy or scrub embarrassing documents;
– And no evidence that Secretary Clinton or any other U.S. official directed or authorized the U.S. Mission in Benghazi to transfer weapons from Libya to another country.
The evidence obtained by the Select Committee also corroborates previous testimony to Congress indicating that Secretary Clinton was deeply engaged during and after the attacks and took action to ensure the safety and security of U.S. personnel, even as intelligence assessments of the attacks changed more than once during this period.
The report exposed the political intentions of the House Select Committee on Benghazi. For example, the Republican-led committee has not held a single hearing with a member of the Department of Defense on Benghazi and has conducted nearly ten times as many interviews with State Department employees as they have with Department of Defense employees (27-4).
The investigation into the investigators also found that Chairman Gowdy’s (R-SC) claim that the Select Committee is not focused on Hillary Clinton to be completely false, “The Select Committee has been engaged in an aggressive press campaign focused almost entirely on Secretary Clinton, issuing 27 press releases related to Secretary Clinton since March, but only 5 on all other topics combined. Chairman Gowdy has referenced Secretary Clinton more than 50 times in nationally televised interviews since March.”
One of the witness interviews debunked the Republican claim that Clinton issued a stand down order.
The former spokesperson for the Bureau of Near Eastern Affairs testified:
Q: It has been alleged that Secretary of State Clinton intentionally blocked military action on the night of the attacks. One Congressman has speculated that, quote, “Secretary Clinton told Leon Panetta to stand down,” end quote, and this resulted in the Defense Department not sending more assets to help in Benghazi. Do you have any evidence that Secretary of State Clinton ordered Secretary of Defense Panetta to stand down on the night of the attacks?
A: No.
Q: Do you have any evidence that Secretary of State Clinton issued any kind of order to Secretary of Defense Panetta on the night of the attacks?
A: No.
The report reveals that Clinton did nothing wrong and that the House Select Committee on Benghazi is nothing more than a partisan stunt that is designed to destroy the frontrunner for the Democratic nomination.
The evidence is laid out over the course of 124 brutal pages. Republicans have lied to the American people about the purposes and intentions of this committee. House Republicans have wasted millions of taxpayer dollars on an investigation that is finding nothing new.
The only evidence of wrongdoing found is on the Republican side of the aisle. The investigation into Hillary Clinton’s emails under the pretense of Benghazi is an illegal use of taxpayer funds for partisan political purposes.
Benghazi has backfired and now Republicans are paying the price for their brazen abuses of power.
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
