Advisory: Benghazi Select Committee Hearing Thursday

Hearing 4

Thursday, October 22, 2015

10:00 a.m.

1100 Longworth House Office Building

Topic: Testimony of Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton

 

Public access to the hearing will be on a first come, first serve basis. Seating is limited. The public can enter Longworth House Office Building when the Independence Ave entrance opens at 7:30 am. Availability of entry cannot be guaranteed.  Entry does not reserve a specific seat and seats may not be held. The public will be admitted to fill available seats in the general seating area after 9:30 AM and at the end of break periods in the hearing throughout the day, as seats become available. 

In addition, the Committee will have an overflow room available for members of the public at the Committee on House Administration in room 1310 Longworth House Office Building.

Congressionally credentialed members of the press must RSVP through their galleries.

For live stream information, please visit www.benghazi.house.gov 

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October 22, 2015 - 1100 Longworth House Office Building

Chairman Gowdy's Opening Statement

As prepared for delivery

Chris Stevens, Sean Smith, Glen Doherty and Tyrone Woods served our country with courage and with honor.  They were killed under circumstances most of us could never imagine.  Under cover of darkness, terrorists poured through the front gate of our facility and attacked our people and our property with machine guns, mortars and fire.

It is important we remember how these four men died. It is equally important we remember how and why they lived. They were more than four images on a television screen.  They were husbands, fathers, sons, brothers, family and friends.  They were Americans who believed in service and sacrifice.  Many people speak wistfully of a better world, but do little about it.  These four men went out and tried to make it better.  And it cost them their lives. 

We know what they gave us.  What do we owe them? Justice for those who killed them.  We owe their families our everlasting respect and gratitude.  We owe them - and each other - the truth. 

The truth about why we were in Libya. 

The truth about what we were doing in Libya.  

The truth about the escalating violence in Libya before we were attacked and these four men lost their lives.

The truth about requests for additional security.

The truth about requests for more personnel.

The truth about requests for more equipment.

The truth about where and why our military was positioned as it was on the anniversary of 9-11. 

The truth about what was happening and being discussed in Washington while our people were under attack.

The truth about what led to the attacks.

The truth about what our government told the American people after the attacks.

Why were there so many requests for more security personnel and equipment, and why were those requests denied in Washington?

Why did the State Department compound in Benghazi not even come close to meeting proper security specifications?

What policies were we pursuing in Libya that required a physical presence in spite of the escalating violence?

Who in Washington was aware of the escalating violence in Libya?

What special precautions, if any, were taken on the anniversary of 9-11?

What happened in Washington after the first attack and what was the response to that attack?

What did the military do or not do?

What did our leaders in Washington do or not do and when?

Why was the American public given such divergent accounts of what caused these attacks?

And why is it so hard to get information from the very government these four men were representing and serving and sacrificing for?

Even after an Accountability Review Board and half a dozen congressional investigations, these and other questions still lingered.  These questions lingered because those previous investigations were not thorough.  These questions lingered because those previous investigations were narrow in scope and either incapable or unwilling to access the facts and evidence necessary to answer all relevant questions. 

So the House of Representatives, including some Democrats, asked this Committee to write the final, definitive accounting of what happened in Benghazi.

This committee is the first committee to review more than fifty thousand pages of documents because we insisted they be produced.

This committee is the first committee to demand access to more eyewitnesses, because serious investigations talk to as many eyewitnesses as possible.  

This committee is the first committee to thoroughly and individually interview scores of other witnesses, many of them for the first time.

This committee is the first committee to review thousands of pages of documents from top State Department personnel.

This committee is the first committee to demand access to relevant documents from the CIA, the FBI, the Department of Defense, the State Department, and even the White House. 

This committee is the first committee to demand access to the emails to and from Ambassador Chris Stevens.  How could an investigation possibly be considered credible without reviewing the emails of the person most knowledgeable about Libya?

This committee is the first committee, the only committee, to uncover the fact that Secretary Clinton exclusively used personal email on her own personal server for official business and kept the public record – including emails about Benghazi and Libya – in her own custody and control for almost two years after she left office.  And it was Secretary Clinton's lawyers who determined what would be returned and what would not be returned.

You will hear a lot about the Accountability Review Board today.  Secretary Clinton mentioned the ARB more than 70 times in her previous testimony before Congress.  But when you hear about the ARB you should also know State Department leadership handpicked members of the ARB, the ARB never interviewed Secretary Clinton, the ARB never reviewed her emails and Secretary Clinton's top advisor was allowed to review and suggest changes to the ARB report before the public ever saw it. There is no transcript of ARB interviews, so it is impossible to know whether all relevant questions were asked and answered. And because there is no transcript it is impossible to cite ARB interviews with any particularity at all.  That is not independent.  That is not accountability.  That is not a serious investigation.

You will hear there were previous congressional investigations into Benghazi.  That is true.  It should make you wonder why those previous investigations failed to interview so many witnesses and failed to access so many documents.  If those previous congressional investigations really were serious and thorough, how did they miss Ambassador Stevens' emails?  If those investigations were serious and thorough, how did they miss Secretary Clinton's emails?  If those previous congressional investigations were serious and thorough, why did they fail to interview dozens of key State Department witnesses including agents on the ground, who experienced the terrorist attacks firsthand?

Just last month, three years after Benghazi, top aides finally returned documents to the State Department. A month ago, this Committee received 1500 new pages of Secretary Clinton's emails related to Libya and Benghazi.  3 years after the attacks.  A little over two weeks ago, this Committee received roughly 1400 pages of Ambassador Stevens' emails.  3 years after the attacks. 

It is impossible to conduct a serious, fact-centric investigation without access to the documents from the former Secretary of State, the Ambassador who knew more about Libya than anyone else, and testimony from witnesses who survived the attacks. 

Madame Secretary, I understand some people - frankly in both parties -have suggested this investigation is about you.  Let me assure you it is not.  And let me assure you why it is not.  This work is about something much more important than any single person.  It is about four U.S. government workers, including our Ambassador, murdered by terrorists on foreign soil.  It is about what happened before, during, and after the attacks that killed these four men.  It is about what this country owes those who risk their lives to serve it.  It is about the fundamental obligation of our government to tell the truth - always - to the American people.  Not a single member of this Committee signed up for an investigation into you or your email system.  We signed up because we wanted to honor the service and sacrifice of 4 people sent to a foreign land to represent us - who were killed - and do everything we can to prevent it from happening to others. 

Our Committee has interviewed half a hundred witnesses, not a single one of them has been named Clinton until today.  You were the Secretary of State for this country when our facility was attacked.  So, of course this Committee is going to talk to you.  You are an important witness, but you are just one important witness, among half a hundred important witnesses.

I understand you wanted to come sooner than today so let me be clear why that did not happen.  You had an unusual email arrangement with yourself, which meant the State Department could not produce your emails to us.

You made exclusive use of personal email and a personal server.  When you left the State Department you kept those public records to yourself for almost two years.  You and your attorneys decided what to return and what to delete. Those decisions were your decisions, not ours.  It was only in March of this year we learned of this email arrangement.  Since we learned of your email arrangement we have interviewed dozens of witnesses, only one of whom was about your email arrangement, and that was a very short interview because he invoked his Fifth Amendment privilege against self-incrimination.

Making sure the public record is complete is what serious investigations do.  So, it was important to gain access to Ambassador Stevens’ emails, the emails of other Sr. leaders and witnesses, and it was important to gain access to your emails.  Your emails are no more or less important than anyone else’s.  It just took longer to get them and garnered more attention in the process.

I want you to take note during this hearing how many times congressional Democrats call on this administration to make long awaited documents available.  They won't.  Take note of how many witnesses congressional Democrats ask us to schedule for interview.  They won't.  We would be much closer to finishing this investigation and writing a final report if our Democrat colleagues decided to help us pursue the facts.  If the Democrats on this committee had their way, dozens of witnesses never would have been interviewed, tens of thousands of documents never would have been reviewed, your public record would still be private, and we would never have accessed the emails of our Ambassador.  All of that may be smart politics, but it is not the way to run a serious investigation. 

There are certain characteristics that make our country unique in the annals of history.  We are the greatest experiment in self-governance the world has ever known.  And part of that self-governance includes self-scrutiny - even of the highest officials.  Our country is strong enough to handle the truth.  And our fellow citizens expect us to pursue the truth, wherever the facts take us. 

So this committee is going to do what we pledged to do, and what should have been done long ago, which is interview the witnesses, examine the relevant evidence, and access the documents.  We are going to pursue the truth in a manner worthy of the memory of the four men who lost their lives and worthy of the respect of our fellow citizens.

We are going to write that final, definitive accounting of what happened in Benghazi.  We would like to do it with your help, but we are going to do it nonetheless.  Because understanding what happened in Benghazi goes to the heart of who we are as a country and the promises we make to those we send into harm's way.  They deserve the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth.  The people we work for deserve the truth.  The family and friends of those killed representing this country deserve the truth.  There is no statute of limitations on that truth.

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Hillary Clinton Opening Statement to House Select Committee on Benghazi

Hillary Clinton delivered the following opening statement at today’s hearing of the House Select Committee on Benghazi:

“Thank you Mr. Chairman, Ranking Member Cummings, members of the committee.  The terrorist attacks at our diplomatic compound and later, at the CIA post in Benghazi, Libya on September 11, 2012 took the lives of four brave Americans: Ambassador Chris Stevens, Sean Smith, Glen Doherty, and Tyrone Woods.

I am here to honor the service of those four men, the courage of the Diplomatic Security agency and the CIA officers who risked their lives that night, and the work their colleagues do every single day all over the world.

I knew and admired Chris Stevens.  He was one of our nation’s most accomplished diplomats.  Chris’s mother liked to say that he had sand in his shoes, because he was always moving, always working, especially in the Middle East that he came to know so well.

When the revolution broke out in Libya, we named Chris as our envoy to the opposition. There was no easy way to get him into Benghazi to begin gathering information and meeting those Libyans who were rising up against the murderous the dictator Qadhafi, but he found a way to get himself there on a Greek cargo ship, just like a 19th century American envoy.  But his work was very much 21st century hard-nosed diplomacy.

It is a testament to the relationships that he built in Libya that on the day following the awareness of his death, tens of thousands of Libyans poured into the streets in Benghazi. They held signs reading “thugs don’t represent Benghazi or Islam.” “Sorry people of America, this is not the behavior of our Islam or our Prophet.” “Chris Stevens, a friend to all Libyans.”

Although I didn’t have the privilege of meeting Sean Smith personally, he was a valued member of our State Department family. An Air Force veteran, he was an Information Management officer, who had served in Pretoria, Baghdad, Montreal, and The Hague.

Tyrone Woods and Glen Doherty worked for the CIA. They were killed by mortar fire at the CIA’s outpost in Benghazi, a short distance from the diplomatic compound. They were both former Navy SEALs and trained paramedics with distinguished records of service, including in Iraq and Afghanistan.

As Secretary of State, I had the honor to lead and the responsibility to support nearly 70,000 diplomats and development experts across the globe.

Losing any one of them, as we did in Iraq, Afghanistan, Mexico, Haiti, and Libya during my tenure, was deeply painful for our entire State Department and USAID family, and for me personally.

I was the one who asked Chris to go to Libya as our envoy. I was the one who recommended him to be our Ambassador to to the President.

After the attacks, I stood next to President Obama as Marines carried his casket and those of the other three Americans off the plane at Andrews Air Force Base.

I took responsibility.  And, as part of that, before I left office, I launched reforms to better protect our people in the field and help reduce the chance of another tragedy happening in the future.

What happened in Benghazi has been scrutinized by a nonpartisan, hard-hitting Accountability Review Board, seven prior Congressional investigations, multiple news organizations, and, of course, our law enforcement and intelligence agencies.

So today I would like to share three observations about how we can learn from this tragedy and move forward as a nation.

First, America must lead in a dangerous world, and our diplomats must continue representing us in dangerous places.

The State Department sends people to more than 270 posts in 170 countries around the world.

Chris Stevens understood that diplomats must operate in many places where our soldiers do not, where there are no other boots on the ground, and safety is far from guaranteed.  In fact, he volunteered for just those assignments.

He also understood we will never prevent every act of terrorism or achieve perfect security, and that we inevitably must accept a level of risk to protect our country and advance our interests and values.

And make no mistake: the risks are real.  Terrorists have killed more than sixty-five American diplomatic personnel since the 1970s and more than a hundred contractors and locally employed staff.

Since 2001, there have been more than one hundred attacks on U.S. diplomatic facilities around the world.

But if you ask our most experienced ambassadors, they’ll tell you they can’t do their jobs for us from bunkers.

It would compound the tragedy of Benghazi if Chris Stevens’ death and the death of the other three Americans ended up undermining the work to which he and they devoted their lives.

We have learned the hard way when America is absent, especially from unstable places, there are consequences.  Extremism takes root, aggressors seek to fill the vacuum, and security everywhere is threatened, including here at home.

That’s why Chris was in Benghazi.  It’s why he had served previously in Syria, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, and Jerusalem during the second intifada.

Nobody knew the dangers of Libya better – a weak government, extremist groups, rampant instability. But Chris chose to go to Benghazi because he understood America had to be represented there at that pivotal time.

He knew that eastern Libya was where the revolution had begun and that unrest there could derail the country’s fragile transition to democracy.  And if extremists gained a foothold, they would have the chance to destabilize the entire region, including Egypt and Tunisia.

He also knew how urgent it was to ensure that the weapons Qadhafi had left strewn across the country, including shoulder-fired missiles that could knock an airplane out of the sky, did not fall into the wrong hands.  The nearest Israeli airport is just a day’s drive from the Libyan border.

Above all, Chris understood that most people, in Libya or anywhere, reject the extremists’ argument that violence can ever be a path to dignity or justice. That’s what those thousands of Libyans were saying after they learned of his death. He understood there was no substitute for going beyond the Embassy walls and doing the hard work of building relationships.

Retreat from the world is not an option.  America cannot shrink from our responsibility to lead.  That doesn’t mean we should ever return to the go-it-alone foreign policy of the past, a foreign policy that puts boots on the ground as a first choice rather than a last resort.  Quite the opposite.

We need creative, confident leadership that harnesses all of America’s strengths and values.  Leadership that integrates and balances the tools of diplomacy, development, and defense.

And at the heart of that effort must be dedicated professionals like Chris Stevens and his colleagues, who put their lives on the line for a country—our country—because they believed – as I do – that America is the greatest force for peace and progress the world has ever known.

My second observation is this:  We have a responsibility to provide our diplomats with the resources and support they need to do their jobs as safely and effectively as possible.

After previous deadly attacks, leaders from both parties and both branches of government came together to determine what went wrong and how to fix it for the future.  That’s what happened during the Reagan administration, when Hezbollah attacked our embassy. They killed 63 people, including 17 Americans. And then in a later attack, attacked our Marine barracks and killed so many more. Those two attacks in Beirut resulted in the deaths of 258 Americans.

It’s what happened during the Clinton administration when al Qaeda bombed our embassies in Kenya and Tanzania, killing more than two hundred people, wounding more than two thousand people, and killing twelve Americans.  It’s what happened during the Bush administration after 9/11.

Part of America’s strength is we learn, we adapt, and we get stronger.

After the Benghazi attacks, I asked Ambassador Thomas Pickering, one of our most distinguished and longest-serving diplomats, along with Admiral Mike Mullen, the former Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff appointed by President George W. Bush, to lead an Accountability Review Board. This is an institution that the Congress set up after the terrible attacks in Beirut. There have been eighteen previous Accountability Review Boards. Only two have ever made any of their findings public. The one following the attacks on our embassies in East Africa and the one following the attack on Benghazi. The Accountability Review Board did not pull a single punch. They found systemic problems and management deficiencies in two State Department bureaus.

And the Review Board recommended twenty-nine specific improvements.  I pledged that by the time I left office, every one would be on the way to implementation.  And they were.  More Marines were slated for deployment to high-threat embassies.  Additional Diplomatic Security agents were being hired and trained.

And Secretary Kerry has continued this work.  But there is more to do.  And no administration can do it alone.  Congress has to be our partner, as it has been after previous tragedies.

For example, the Accountability Review Board and subsequent investigations have recommended improved training for our officers before they deploy to the field.  But efforts to establish a modern joint training center are being held up by Congress. The men and women who serve our country deserve better.

Finally, there is one more observation I’d like to share:

I traveled to 112 countries as Secretary of State. Every time I did, I felt great pride and honor representing the country that I love. We need leadership at home to match our leadership abroad.  Leadership that puts national security ahead of politics and ideology.

Our nation has a long history of bipartisan cooperation on foreign policy and national security.  Not that we always agree — far from it — but we do come together when it counts.

As Secretary of State, I worked with the Republican chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee to pass a landmark nuclear arms control treaty with Russia.  I worked with Republican Leader, Senator Mitch McConnell, to open up Burma, now Myanmar, to find democratic change.

I know it’s possible to find common ground, because I have done it.

We should debate on the basis of fact, not fear.  We should resist denigrating the patriotism or loyalty of those with who we disagree.

So I am here. Despite all the previous investigations and all the talk about partisan agendas, I am here to honor those we lost and to do what I can to aid those who serve us still.

And my challenge to you, members of this Committee, is the same challenge I put to myself.

Let’s be worthy of the trust the American people have bestowed upon us.  They expect us to lead. To learn the right lessons.  To rise above partisanship and to reach for statesmanship.

That’s what I tried to do every day as Secretary of State.  And it’s what I hope we all strive for here today and into the future. Thank you.”

The pro-Clinton group Correct the Record provided a steady stream of email responses

8:16 AM  DAVID BROCK PENS LETTER SLAMMING BENGHAZI COMMITTEE’S POLITICAL ACTIVITIES

10:42 AM  CTR RAPID RESPONSE: If Emails Are a Small Part of Trey Gowdy’s Investigation, Why Was It A Focus Of His Opening Statement?

10:46 AM  CTR RAPID RESPONSE: Debunking Gowdy’s Opening Statement

11:05 AM  FACT: Sec. Clinton did not see requests for additional security, nor did she know of requests being declined 

11:24 AM  CTR RAPID RESPONSE: REPUBLICANS KICK OFF HEARING BY ABANDONING FOCUS ON BENGHAZI

11:27 AM  CTR RAPID RESPONSE: REP. PETER ROSKAM: HERE ARE SOME NOTES FOR YOU

11:44 AM  CTR RAPID RESPONSE: REP. MARTHA ROBY’S EMAIL-FOCUSED LINE OF QUESTIONING

11:52 AM  Fact Check: Trey Gowdy’s Opening Statement

12:12 PM  CTR RAPID RESPONSE: ROSKAM CONTRADICTS ON LIBYA POLICY

12:15 PM  FACT: There was no actionable intelligence warning of the attack

more...!



Priorities USA
For Immediate Release

October 22, 2015
Contact: Justin Barasky

Priorities USA Statement On Hillary Clinton’s Benghazi Panel Appearance

Priorities USA Executive Director Anne Caprara released the following statement after Hillary Clinton’s appearance in front of the Benghazi panel today:
 

“In the face of enormous partisan rancor from Congressional Republicans Hillary Clinton demonstrated the poise, intellect and strength that will make her a strong President of the United States. The GOP’s insistence on playing political games and wasting millions of American tax-dollars on an effort to hurt Hillary Clinton politically dishonors the lives lost in Benghazi and explains why every single recent poll shows Americans don’t trust the panel’s motives. Whether it’s the importance of keeping America safe, or the shameful pettiness of Republican political attacks, we’re confident that Hillary Clinton will continue to stand strong for us, just as she did today.”

###

 

Paid for by Priorities USA Action and not authorized by any candidate or candidate’s committee.www.prioritiesusaaction.org

Correct the Record

1 hearing --> 144 interruptions by Republicans

Despite Trey Gowdy’s promise not to interrupt Secretary Clinton during her testimony, House Republicans used every opportunity to cut off, butt in and interrupt whenever Hillary Clinton sought to answer the Committee’s questions. The stark contrast between Hillary Clinton’s continued composure and the Republicans’ deteriorating decorum only highlights how poorly the Benghazi Committee has treated this investigation and its witnesses.

Correct the Record

CTR RAPID RESPONSE                                                     

Thursday, October 22, 2015      

 

CONTACT: Correct The Record

Adrienne Watson / Daniel Wessel


BROCK STATEMENT:

A Pathetic Display And The Reek of Desperation:
11 Hours of Partisan Swings, Embarrassing Misses By Gowdy and the GOP 

Washington, DC – David Brock, Founder of Correct The Record released the following
statement upon the completion of today’s marathon, hyper-political House Benghazi Committee hearing:

“I’ll be shocked if House Republicans ever call Secretary Clinton to testify again after the disaster that befell them today.  In fact, the next time the public will be transfixed on an appearance by Secretary Clinton on Capitol Hill will be when she is sworn in as President on
January 20, 2017.  And she’ll take the oath of office that day in no small part because of the presidential caliber performance she delivered today and because of the vast overreach of Republicans who have played politics with the lives of four dead Americans.  


“Today’s hearing did nothing to dispel the notion that this entire exercise is nothing more than a political hit job against Secretary Clinton.  After 11 hours of partisan questioning, other than getting to know Committee Republicans as a rude, hectoring and petulant lot, the American people have learned absolutely nothing new about the tragedy at Benghazi. The Republican members of the Benghazi Committee had nothing to offer other than the same tired questions that have been asked and answered time and time again.
















“After today’s hearing, there are only three questions left.  First, who is reimbursing the taxpayers for the $4.8 million wasted on this partisan exercise? Second, when will Republicans disband this kangaroo court once and for all?  And finally, when will Trey Gowdy apologize to the families of four dead Americans for playing politics with their lives?”


Correct The Record is a strategic research and rapid response team designed to
defend Hillary Clinton from baseless attacks.


Meanwhile, this is not likely to go away...
Mike Huckabee for President
NEWS RELEASE

Huckabee lambasts Hillary's Benghazi stonewalling

Huckabee: "Four Americans died and Hillary lied claiming it was about a YouTube video."

LITTLE ROCK, Ark.- Former Arkansas Governor and 2016 GOP presidential candidate Mike Huckabee released the following statement in response to Hillary Clinton's testimony before the House Select Committee on Benghazi today.

"We learned today that if Hillary had communicated as frequently with Chris Stevens as she did with Sydney Blumenthal, and if she had believed what Chris Stevens was reporting about the security concerns in Libya as much as she believed what Blumenthal was reporting about President Obama, four Americans might be alive. 

"Four Americans died and Hillary lied claiming it was about a YouTube video. It wasn't about a video and she knew it, but when she looked into the eyes of Charles Woods, father of Tyrone who died that night, she said it was.  She promised they would get to the bottom of it. I promised Charles Woods to his face I would not forget his son, and to this day I have a photo in my office of Tyrone to remind me. I'm willing to endure the scorn of Democrats on the Benghazi Committee, but I will not be deterred from bringing truth to light."

#  #  #
Gilmore for America, LLC
For Immediate Release: October 23, 2015

Gilmore Says Clinton Unfit to be President

Alexandria, VA -- James Gilmore, former governor of Virginia and Republican presidential candidate, said today that Hillary Clinton isunfit to serve as president. Gilmore said:

"It's no shock that there were no major revelations in yesterday's hearing before the Benghazi select committee because Hillary Clinton and President Obama have covered up the facts since the night four Americans needlessly died in Benghazi.

"Hillary Clinton had the responsibility to assure the safety of our diplomats abroad, and she failed miserably.  Multiple requests for additional security forces were turned down or ignored. Clinton, as secretary of state, was personally responsible to know the facts on the ground. There were many attacks on Western diplomats before the 9-11-2012 attacks that killed Ambassador Stevens and three Americans. The report of the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence on the Benghazi incident describes the facts that should have alerted Clinton that many terrorist groups were operating openly in Benghazi before the attacks.

Clinton now says she was ignorant of the requests for more security. But it was her responsibility to know and to either provide more security or pull our people out of Benghazi. She did neither. Yesterday, she seemed to joke about one of Amb. Stevens' requests for more security. She may think it's a laughing matter, but I don't. At this point, it does make a
difference regardless of how desperately Clinton may want to duck her responsibility.

"Bernie Sanders may be tired of talking about Clinton's private email system, but I'm not. The fact is that Clinton had a corrupt purpose in setting up the system: to hide the facts of what she did from the public and to prevent creating a record for which she could be held accountable.
And the system was used to exchange classified information, some of which was top secret. Anyone who so negligently and irresponsibly handled our nations' most closely-guarded secrets is unfit to be president."

###

Judicial Watch
October 22, 2015

New Obama Administration Intelligence Report Tied Benghazi Assault to Terrorism Group

‘The attack was an organized operation with specific information the US Ambassador was present.’ – Defense Intelligence Agency cable, September 12, 2012

(Washington, DC) – Judicial Watch announced today that it uncovered a September 12, 2012, cable from the Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA) to the Department of State Command Center (DSCC) revealing that the Obama administration was informed within 24 hours that the attack on the U.S. Special Mission Compound in Benghazi was “an organized operation” carried out by a “Salafi terrorism group” in retaliation for the killing of al-Qaeda’s second in command, Libyan national Abu Yahya al-Libi. The documents, from the DSCC, were provided to Judicial Watch in response to a court order in a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) lawsuit filed in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia on October 16, 2014, (Judicial Watch v. U.S. Department of State (No. 1:14-cv-01733)).

The lawsuit seeks “any and all logs, reports, or other records” the Washington-based Diplomatic Security Command Center produced between September 10, 2012, and September 13, 2012, relating to the terrorist attack on the U.S. compound in Benghazi, Libya. The DIA cable obtained by Judicial Watch states:  “The attack was an organized operation with specific information that the US Ambassador was present.”

The DIA cable was emailed to numerous State Department recipients by the DSCC at the request of the National Counter Terrorism Center (NCTC), further confirming that the Obama administration knew the assault was a well-organized terrorist attack before President Obama, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and National Security Advisor Susan Rice claimed the assault was the result of an “unpremeditated… spontaneous protest” over an obscure Internet video.

The previously Secret document includes the following information:

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY. A Salafi group (NFI) is believed to be responsible for the 11 September, 2012, attack on the US Consulate in Benghazi, Libya. The attack was in retaliation for the killing of an Al Qaeda operative. The Salafi group attended the [initial] protests and returned at night using overwhelming firepower to overtake security forces of the Consulate.

  1. (U) The general atmosphere in Benghazi .and Tripoli, Libya, relevant to the attack on the US Consulate, on 11 and 12Sept12, is that of shock and disbelief. A Salafi group is reported to be behind the attack. The Salafi group responsible for the violent [sic] are believed to be the same group who defaced the Islamic shrines and old historic monuments. Some business owners are siding against the Salafi group, believed to be the culprits, and hoping for international intervention to assure stability and justice. A majority of the local population is reported to hold anti-Salafi views.
  2. (U/FOUO) The attack was an organized operation with specific information that the US Ambassador was present. The Salafi group attended the protest at or near the US Consulate earlier on 11 September, 2012, and then returned at 2300 firing small arms weapons and between 25 to 30 RPGs at the Consulate and other unknown targets (NFI). The local police tried to defend the Consulate but were out matched by the group’s size and their superior firepower.
  3. (U/FOUO) The attack was in [sic] carried out in retaliation for the killing of the Al Qaeda’s number two man, Abu Yah Ya ((A1 LIBI)).

COMMENTS: (Source Comments) 1. (U/FOUO) [REDACTED]

  1. (U/FOUO) There has [sic]been no reports of any continuation of the protests or violence, but source suspects there could be additional violence since the attack seemed well coordinated. The majority of the population is against these violent actions, but will not openly condemn them as it will align them with those who support the creation and promulgation of the anti-Muhammad/Islamic video or view. It is believed that most of the businesses and population would support this as the majority hold anti Salafi views and are against such violence. [REDACTED]
  2. (U/FOUO) There was a plan to protest in Tripoli on 11Sep12, but law enforcement officials squashed the protest with roadblocks and enforcement efforts.
  3. (U) One business owner was heard expressing, “l hope the building has cameras,” to help catch the ones responsible.

(Field Comments) 1. (U/FOUO) To aid collection efforts, analysts are encouraged to send evaluations and additional source directed requirements (SDRs) via HOT-R.  lf HOT-R is unavailable, please send evaluations and SDRs to DIRNAVCRIMINVSERV QUANTICO VA//0025//. For foreign disclosure and release of information contained in this IIR, submit a request for information (RFI) via the NCIS Homepage at: [REDACTED] …

The records are in line with other Defense Department documents uncovered through Judicial Watch litigation that also almost immediately reported that the attack on the U.S. Consulate in Benghazi was committed by the al Qaeda and Muslim Brotherhood-linked “Brigades of the Captive Omar Abdul Rahman” (BCOAR), and had been planned at least 10 days in advance. (The documents also include an August 2012 analysis warning of the rise of ISIS and the predicted failure of the Obama policy of regime change in Syria.)

“These new smoking-gun documents show that intelligence tied the Benghazi attack to terrorists not to any videos,” said Judicial Watch President Tom Fitton. “It is inescapable that Barack Obama, Hillary Clinton, Susan Rice knowingly lied about the Benghazi terrorist attack.  We would hope that the Benghazi Select Committee will try to get some accountability from Hillary Clinton for her deadly dishonesty.  And, frankly, it is disgraceful that it is only Judicial Watch, not costly congressional investigations that is getting out these key documents for the American people.”

In April 2014, Judicial Watch forced the release of documents showing then-White House Deputy Strategic Communications Adviser Ben Rhodes and other Obama administration public relations officials attempting to orchestrate a campaign to “reinforce” President Obama and to portray the Benghazi consulate terrorist attack as being “rooted in an Internet video, and not a failure of policy.” Other documents showed that State Department officials initially described the incident as an “attack” and a possible kidnap attempt. Judicial Watch’s release of the Rhodes email, which had been withheld by the Obama administration from Congress, caused the House of Representatives to approve the Select Committee on Benghazi, which is now led by Rep. Trey Gowdy (R-SC).

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