Issa: ‘Slippery’ State Dept. Not Cooperating on Benghazi Documents
Photo Credit: REUTERSBy Cathy Burke.
House Oversight Committee head Darrell Issa slammed the State Department Thursday for using “slippery tactics” to weasel out of providing documents related to the 2012 Benghazi attack – and issued a new subpoena to haul Secretary of State John Kerry before the panel.
The California Republican said he’d kept his part of a bargain – lifting an initial May 21 date for Kerry to go before the committee – but the State Department has “back tracked,” The Hill reports.
“With this State Department’s slippery tactics, it’s no wonder our friends in the world are losing faith in us and our adversaries doubt our credibility,” Issa said in a blistering statement.
A second subpoena for Kerry to appear May 29 was issued, and Issa warned “further accommodation will not be possible,” The Hill reports.
“I lifted the subpoena requiring Secretary Kerry to testify on May 21 because the State Department made reasonable arguments for an accommodation and told our Committee they were seeking a suitable alternative date for his testimony on a voluntary basis,” Issa’s statement said.
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Photo Credit: Fox News Lawmakers Say Rice’s Story Has ‘Absolutely Collapsed’ Amid More Questions on Benghazi Account
By Catherine Herridge.
Leading Republican senators charged Thursday that National Security Adviser Susan Rice’s public account of the Benghazi terror attack has now “absolutely collapsed,” citing inaccuracies in her statements not only on the origin of the attack but the level of security at the U.S. compound.
The lawmakers said she is clearly “frustrated” that her story is falling apart, a day after Rice appeared to scoff at a question on whether a congressional select committee probe would reveal new evidence. “Danged if I know,” Rice said in response to the question Wednesday.
“She’s frustrated this won’t go away,”Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., told reporters at a Capitol Hill news conference along with Sen. Kelly Ayotte, R-N.H. “She’s frustrated that she appeared on national television and told a story about Benghazi that has absolutely collapsed.”
Aside from wrongly linking an anti-Islam video to the Benghazi attack — when U.S. personnel were reporting a direct assault by Ansar al-Sharia within the first 24 hours — Rice’s statements about U.S. consulate security are under fresh scrutiny.
On three network Sunday shows – ABC’s “This Week,” NBC’s “Meet the Press” and “Fox News Sunday” — Rice said security was “strong” or “significant” at the consulate on the day of the attack, which was incorrect.
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