House Report: Hillary Clinton Lied Under Oath When She Denied Knowing Benghazi Consulate Requested Additional Security… Time for the Dems to circle the wagons around the golden calf. Via Washington Examiner: House Republicans released their report on the investigation into the Benghazi terrorist attack, having concluded that then-Secretary of State Hillary Clinton was not telling the truth when she told Congress that she wasn’t aware that officials at the U.S. mission in Benghazi had requested extra security. “The specific security requests pertaining to Benghazi, you know were handled by the security professionals in the department,” Clinton told Congress in January. “I didn’t see those requests, they didn’t come to me, I didn’t approve them, I didn’t deny them.” The House report suggests that Clinton received a request for more security from Gene Cretz, who preceded Christopher Stevens as ambassador to Libya. “On April 19, 2012, the response cable from the Department of State to Embassy Tripoli, bearing Secretary Clinton’s signature, acknowledges Ambassador Cretz’s request for additional security but instead articulates a plan to scale back security assets for the U.S. Mission in Libya, including the Benghazi Mission,” the House report says. http://washingtonexaminer.com/house-report-clinton-didnt-tell-the-truth-about-requests-for-benghazi-security/article/2527958
Congressional Report: White House Officials Altered Benghazi Talking Points To Protect Hillary Clinton For Approving Reduced Security… Via Washington Examiner: A critical report (attached below) drafted by five GOP-led House committees has determined that reduced security in Benghazi in the days leading up to the Sept. 11, 2012 attack were approved by then-Secretary of State Hillary Clinton. The report also found that White House and high-ranking officials at the State Department changed CIA talking points following the attacks, which killed Ambassador Chris Stevens and three others, in order to shield the State Department from “criticism for inadequate security levels,” on the ground in Benghazi. The 46-page report provides a timeline of events leading up to the attacks in Benghazi and investigation that followed.
Report: Three Operatives From Yemen’s Al-Qaeda In The Arabian Peninsula Took Part In Benghazi Attack, May Have Been Sent To Lead Operation… Refresh my memory, how long did the Obama administration cling to the claim the attack was the result of a movie? (Long enough to get past the election) (CNN) — Several Yemeni men belonging to al Qaeda took part in the terrorist attack on the U.S. diplomatic compound in Benghazi last September, according to several sources who have spoken with CNN. One senior U.S. law enforcement official told CNN that “three or four members of al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula,” or AQAP, took part in the attack. Another source briefed on the Benghazi investigation said Western intelligence services suspect the men may have been sent by the group specifically to carry out the attack. But it’s not been ruled out that they were already in the city and participated as the opportunity arose. The attack on the compound and subsequently on a “safe-house” to which Americans had been evacuated left four U.S. citizens dead, including the ambassador to Libya, Chris Stevens. If the AQAP members were dispatched to Benghazi, it would be further evidence of a new level of co-operation among jihadist groups throughout the Middle East and North Africa, counterterrorism analysts say.
Report: Secret Timeline Shows Obama Administration Knowingly Doctored Talking Points To Mislead Public On Benghazi Attacks We knew of course that this had occurred, but the documents catch them dead to rights, and names the top Obama officials involved, including Victoria Nuland and National Security Advisor Ben Rhodes. Via The Weekly Standard: Even as the White House strove last week to move beyond questions about the Benghazi attacks of Tuesday, September 11, 2012, fresh evidence emerged that senior Obama administration officials knowingly misled the country about what had happened in the days following the assaults. The Weekly Standard has obtained a timeline briefed by the Office of the Director of National Intelligence detailing the heavy substantive revisions made to the CIA’s talking points, just six weeks before the 2012 presidential election, and additional information about why the changes were made and by whom. As intelligence officials pieced together the puzzle of events unfolding in Libya, they concluded even before the assaults had ended that al Qaeda-linked terrorists were involved. Senior administration officials, however, sought to obscure the emerging picture and downplay the significance of attacks that killed a U.S. ambassador and three other Americans. The frantic process that produced the changes to the talking points took place over a 24-hour period just one day before Susan Rice, U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, made her now-famous appearances on the Sunday television talk shows. The discussions involved senior officials from the State Department, the National Security Council, the CIA, the Office of the Director of National Intelligence, and the White House. http://www.weeklystandard.com/articles/benghazi-talking-points_720543.html
Benghazi Whistleblower Says He Was “Demoted” For Challenging Susan Rice’s Bogus Claims About YouTube Video… He can expect much worse from the thuggish Obama administration now that he’s testified in front of Congress. Via Beltway Confidential: Gregory Hicks, former deputy chief of mission in Benghazi, told Congress today that a State Department official began criticizing his job performance, and he was ultimately demoted, after he asked why U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Susan Rice attributed the Benghazi attack to an anti-Islamic Youtube video. “In hindsight, I think it began after I asked the question about Ambassador Rice’s statement on the TV shows,” Hicks said of the criticism during a House Oversight and Government Reform Committee hearing on the attack today. Hicks said he asked Assistant Secretary Beth Jones why Rice made the statements that she did on the 9/16/13 Sunday talk shows. “Her reaction was ‘I don’t know,’ and it was very clear from the tone that I should not proceed with any further [questions],” he told lawmakers.
Susan Rice Honored With “Great American” Award Night Before Benghazi Hearing… Apparently helping to coverup a terror attack makes you a “great American.” Via Debra Heine: U.S. Ambassador to the U.N. Susan Rice was honored Tuesday night with the 2013 Louis E. Martin Great American Award. The annual award, presented by The Joint Center for Political and Economic Studies, is given to “an exemplar of change, progress and willingness to take one for the team if circumstances require. (I may have made that last part up.) Specifically, the organization is honoring Rice for ”her work in advancing U.S. interests, strengthening the world’s common security and prosperity, and promoting respect for human rights,” another press release states. The evening gala and awards ceremony, which included Vice President Joe Biden, came the day before State Department whistleblowers testified at the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee hearing on the terrorist attack that took place at the U.S. consulate in Benghazi last year. http://www.breitbart.com/InstaBlog/2013/05/08/Susan-Rice-Honored-With-Great-American-Award-The-Night-Before-Benghazi-Hearing
BBC On Benghazi: “This Is Now Very Serious” It was serious back in September, but finally it is cracking the MSM in a serious way. Welcome to the party. Via BBC: There’s new evidence, obtained by ABC, that the Obama administration did deliberately purge references to “terrorism” from accounts of the attack on the Benghazi diplomatic mission, which killed four people including the US ambassador to Libya. Conservatives have long maintained that the administration deliberately suppressed the truth about the attacks. This is the first hard evidence that the state department did ask for changes to the CIA’s original assessment. Specifically, they wanted references to previous warnings deleted and this sentence removed: “We do know that Islamic extremists with ties to al-Qa’ida participated in the attack.” There’s little doubt in my mind that this will haunt Hillary Clinton if she decides to run for president, unless she executes some pretty fancy footwork. State department spokesperson Victoria Nuland is directly implicated, and the fingerprints of senior White House aides Ben Rhodes and Jay Carney are there as well. http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-22483768
Slain Benghazi Officer’s Mom: Obama, Clinton, Rice “Were Hugging Me” Saying “The Reason This Happened Was the Video”… These scumbags knew the entire time it had nothing to do with the video and then lied to this grieving mother’s face. (CNSNews.com) – The mother of diplomat Sean Smith, who was killed in the Benghazi terrorist attack on Sept. 11, 2012, said that at her son’s memorial service President Barack Obama, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, and Ambassador Susan Rice told her that the attack occurred because of an anti-Muslim video, although evidence now shows the White House was told by the CIA “that Islamic extremists with ties to al Qaeda participated in the attack” and that the agency never mentioned a “video.” It is also now known that White House and State Department officials edited the talking points provided by the CIA to remove any references to the al Qaeda-affiliated group Ansar al-Sharia and earlier warnings from the agency about terrorist threats against the Benghazi compound. The talking points, in their various versions, never mentioned the anti-Muslim video touted by the president, Clinton and Rice. http://cnsnews.com/news/article/slain-benghazi-officers-mom-obama-clinton-rice-all-told-me-about-reason-happened-was
I'm not convinced that anything that comes out of this will really damage the female Clinton's chances at election. It was obvious to any that wanted to dig for the truth that the administration (including the Sec. of State) lied and covered up their complicity via incompetence. The next step will again prove that they not only withheld the extra security requested, and lied about the cause of the "demonstration", but also that they withheld rescue forces WHILE THE EVENT WAS IN PROGRESS!! But that will still not affect the vote of that half of the electorate that are afraid the crazy right wingers want to take away abortion. Geezus.
Just as obvious is that there was a coverup that was undertaken because of the election. From the beginning it was the White House that politicized this tragedy. And it is so clear that even though this is and was a significant news event the majority of the media that call themselves "journalists" are nothing more than pathetic left wing shills.
Agreed, gip, but I have no faith that this proof will open anyone's eyes to change their vote next time.
Issa Seeks Deposition From Leaders Of State Department’s Benghazi Review Board… Issa is a pitbull. WASHINGTON (AP) — The Republican chairman of a House panel looking into the attacks on the U.S. consulate in Benghazi, Libya, wants to take depositions from the leaders of an earlier review board. California’s Rep. Darrell Issa, head of the Oversight and Government Reform Committee, on Sunday said he would like to interview under oath former Ambassador Thomas Pickering and retired Adm. Mike Mullen, the former chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. Pickering and Mullen led an investigation that examined the September attacks that killed four Americans, including an ambassador. Democratic Sen. Dianne Feinstein of California says Congress’ review seems aimed at discrediting former Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton and her potential 2016 presidential bid. The State Department’s IG is already investigating the panel for failing to interview key witnesses. Via Fox News (May 2, 2013): The State Department’s Office of Inspector General is investigating the special internal panel that probed the Benghazi terror attack for the State Department, Fox News has confirmed. The IG’s office is said by well-placed sources to be seeking to determine whether the Accountability Review Board, or ARB — led by former U.N. Ambassador Thomas Pickering and former Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Adm. Mike Mullen — failed to interview key witnesses who had asked to provide their accounts of the Benghazi attacks to the panel. The IG’s office notified the department of the “special review” on March 28, according to Doug Welty, the congressional and public affairs officer of the IG’s office.
Trail Of Benghazi Security Lapses Leads To State Department Senior Leadership Oopsie. Via Fox News: The decision to keep U.S. personnel in Benghazi with substandard security was made at the highest levels of the State Department by officials who have so far escaped blame over the Sept. 11 attack, according to a review of recent congressional testimony and internal State Department memos by Fox News. Nine months before the assault that killed Ambassador Chris Stevens and three others, State Department Under Secretary Patrick Kennedy signed off on an internal memo that green-lighted the Benghazi operation. The December 2011 memo from Jeffrey Feltman — then-Assistant Secretary of State for Near Eastern Affairs (NEA) — pledged “to rapidly implement a series of corrective security measures.” However, no substantial improvements were made, according to congressional testimony to the House oversight committee from Regional Security Officer Eric Nordstrom. http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2013/06/22/trail-benghazi-security-lapses-leads-higher-at-state-department-records-show/
Former Head Of U.S. Forces In Africa Says It Was Clear Benghazi Was A Terror Attack From The Very Beginning… And yet on September 16th Susan Rice appeared on five Sunday shows to blame the attack on a protest over a YouTube video. Via Fox News: The former head of U.S. forces in Africa, General Carter Ham, told the Aspen Security Forum that it quickly became clear the assault on the American consulate in Benghazi last year was a terrorist attack and not a spontaneous demonstration. “It became apparent to all of us quickly that this was not a demonstration, this was a violent attack,” Ham said. Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton initially had portrayed the embassy attack as a response to an inflammatory internet video. Ham said he was in Washington D.C. for a routine meeting on September 11, 2012 with Defense Secretary Leon Panetta and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs, Martin Dempsey, when an alert came in from commanders in Stuttgart, Germany that a violent assault was underway on the consulate in Benghazi and Ambassador Chris Stevens was missing. Asked if it was a terrorist attack, Ham said the intelligence left no doubt that it was. “I don’t know if that was my first reaction, but pretty quickly as we started to gain understanding within the hours after the initiation of the attack, yes.” Ham’s public assessment, believed to be his first since the attack that left four Americans dead, including Stevens, bears special weight since he was the regional commander for Africa.His comments last weekend are in line with those of his former boss, Panetta, who testified before the Senate Armed Services committee in February.
Mother Of American Killed In Benghazi To Obama: “My Son Is Dead. How Could That Be Phony?”… Because Obama said so, that’s why. Via Daily Caller: The mother of a Benghazi victim is furious about the new White House strategy of calling the terrorist attack and many other scandals plaguing the Obama administration “fake” or “phony.” Patricia Smith, mother of Sean Smith, who was slain in the September 11, 2012 terrorist attack, lashed out on “Your World” on the Fox News Channel about that terminology. President Obama has never revealed what, if anything, he was doing while workers at the Benghazi embassy were urgently requesting support, nor has the administration explained why no forces were sent to protect the embassy. The administration also denied the attack was a terrorist incident, claiming it was a spontaneous protest against an obscure YouTube trailer for a film that may or may not exist. “I don’t believe him anymore,” Smith said. “He’s wrong. My son is dead. How could that be phony?” According to Smith, she has been given no answers about what happened that night. She said the administration told her she “didn’t need to know.” http://dailycaller.com/2013/07/25/mother-of-slain-benghazi-victim-sean-smith-my-son-is-dead-how-could-that-be-phony/