http://benghazi.house.gov/

April 22, 2015 Press Release from Hillary for America

Statement of Campaign Chairman John Podesta on Benghazi Committee Election Year Delay

The U.S. House Select Committee on Benghazi announced today that it would delay its findings about the 2012 tragedy to “just months before the 2016 presidential election.” Hillary for America Campaign Chairman John Podesta released the following statement in response.
 
"The Gowdy Committee's admission today that it will not finish its investigation until 2016 is the most telling evidence yet that their investigation is solely about playing politics in the 2016 presidential campaign. This action is the latest example in a broad concerted effort by Republicans and their allies to launch false attacks against Hillary Clinton’s record and deep experience on foreign affairs and national security.
 
“There have already been 21 congressional hearings, five independent or bipartisan reports, and millions of tax dollars spent in the process of investigating this three year old tragedy.  This investigation would now be longer than the investigations of Iran-Contra, the Kennedy Assassination, Watergate and 9/11.
 
“Hillary Clinton has already spent five hours testifying at two congressional committee hearings but, as she’s been saying since last year, she’s happy to do it again. Unfortunately, Republicans insist her testimony is done behind closed doors, where the American public is unable to see their true, politically motivated intentions.
 
"Sadly, Republicans are determined to continue to exploit this tragedy in an effort to try and hurt her campaign."
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For Immediate Release, April 22, 2015
Contact: press@hillaryclinton.com
 
PAID FOR BY HILLARY FOR AMERICA
Contributions or gifts to Hillary for America are not tax deductible.
Hillary for America, PO Box 5256, New York, NY 10185

April 22, 2015

Statement on Response from Clinton Lawyer

Washington, DC—Select Committee on Benghazi Chairman Trey Gowdy, R-S.C., today issued the following statement in response to a letter from former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton’s lawyer, David Kendall:

“I appreciate Mr. Kendall’s timely response to our letter but respectfully disagree with his assertion former Secretary Clinton has answered all questions surrounding the unusual email arrangement she had with herself.  The press conference held by former Secretary Clinton and the subsequent efforts at clarifying her remarks served to create more questions than answers.  I also would note that if the Committee had called former Secretary Clinton when Democrats and her attorney first encouraged us to, the committee would not have had possession of the 300 emails we now have or known about her exclusive use of a personal server and email account to conduct official business."

“The committee is now in possession of thousands of pages of documents from the ARB review no other committee has had access to and the committee expects more ARB documents to be produced by the Department of State in the days ahead. These documents, as well as other documents never before produced to any committee of Congress and transcribed interviews with witnesses never before questioned by any committee of Congress, will aid the committee as it prepares to invite Secretary Clinton to appear." 

“Beyond that, the committee has Mr. Kendall’s letter under advisement and will issue a response tomorrow setting out a reasonable path forward with respect to Secretary Clinton's appearances to discuss both Benghazi as well as congressional efforts to ensure the public record is complete with respect to her tenure as Secretary of State.” 

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March 31, 2015

Select Committee Formally Requests Secretary Clinton Interview on Email Arrangement

Washington, DC—Select Committee on Benghazi Chairman Trey Gowdy today sent a letter requesting former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton to appear before the Committee for a transcribed interview regarding her use of private email and a personal server for official State Department business. The letter reads:

Mr. David E. Kendall
Williams & Connolly LLP
725 12th Street, NW
Washington, D.C. 20005
 
Dear Mr. Kendall:
 
On March 19, 2015, the Committee asked former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton to provide her personal email server to the Inspector General for the State Department to ensure the full record of her tenure as Secretary was preserved.  This request allows for a neutral, detached and independent third-party review of the server to identify information responsive to this Committee’s subpoena.  The Committee suggested the current Inspector General for the Department of State—nominated by President Obama and confirmed without a dissenting vote by the U.S. Senate—to conduct this review independently.  The Committee was then and remains open to the designation of another neutral, detached, and independent arbiter to review Secretary Clinton’s server to ensure all relevant records have been preserved and produced to the Committee consistent with its subpoena.
 
Secretary Clinton’s refusal to allow the Inspector General to ensure the public record is complete is not only disappointing but portends to delay the ability of our Committee to complete its work as expeditiously as possible.  We, therefore, urge the Secretary to reconsider her position and allow a neutral, detached, and independent arbiter ensure the public record is complete and all materials relevant to the Committee’s work have been provided to the Committee.
 
If the Secretary continues to reject the offer of a neutral review, the House of Representatives as a whole will need to consider its next steps.  As you know the production of documents made to the Select Committee represents a very small portion of the total public record housed in the Secretary’s possession until recently.  As such, other committees of Congress as well as the media and the public at large have equities in the Secretary’s public record.
 
Although I have made this abundantly clear, it bears repeating: our Committee has no interest in any emails related to the Secretary’s personal, private matters nor is our Committee seeking documents unrelated to Libya and Benghazi during the relevant time periods. The Committee is, however, committed to reviewing and considering every document related to the work the House of Representatives charged us with doing. 
 
Toward that end and because of the Secretary’s unique arrangement with herself as it relates to public records during and after her tenure as Secretary of State, this Committee is left with no alternative but to request Secretary Clinton appear before this Committee for a transcribed interview to better understand decisions the Secretary made relevant to the creation, maintenance, retention, and ultimately deletion of public records.  The Committee is willing to schedule the interview at a time convenient for Secretary Clinton, but no later than May 1, 2015. 
 
The Committee believes a transcribed interview would best protect Secretary Clinton’s privacy, the security of the information queried, and the public’s interest in ensuring this Committee has all information needed to accomplish the task set before it. 
 
Once there is a reasonable assurance all documents in the Secretary’s care, custody and control related to what happened before, during, and after the attacks in Benghazi have been shared with the Committee, we will be in a position to schedule her appearance in a public hearing to constructively discuss these topics.   We share the Secretary’s desire these two conversations take place as quickly and efficiently as possible, and are willing to expedite both working with your office, the Secretary’s schedule and our Democrat colleagues on the Committee.  What the Committee cannot do is conclude its work without assurances the Committee has all relevant information necessary for us to discharge the duties required of us.
 
We continue to believe Secretary Clinton’s email arrangement with herself is highly unusual, if not unprecedented.  The decision to delete these records during the pendency of a congressional investigation only exacerbates our need to better understand what the Secretary did, when she did it, and why she did it.  While she has cited a variety of justifications for this arrangement, many questions and details about the arrangement remain unanswered.  These questions relate to:
 
  1. her decision to bypass an official government email account;
 
  1. whether she affirmatively turned over any relevant records during the pendency of the Accountability Review Board investigation or at any time after Congress first began investigating the Benghazi attack until December 2014;
 
  1. her decision to retain those records upon separation from the Department of State;
 
  1. the methodology by which these emails were subsequently searched for evidence of official records; and
 
  1. her decision to delete certain emails.
 
The Committee also reiterates pending the resolution of this matter the server and any associated information, data, backups, and equipment must be preserved wherever they reside and that any further deletion or destruction of data or information must cease.  As you should be well aware, it is technically possible in many instances to recover electronic information notwithstanding whether it has been “deleted” or overwritten.  It is precisely for this reason a neutral and objective party must have access to the server and related equipment to identify information potentially responsive to relevant laws and investigative requests. 
 
We look forward to working closely with you to schedule both Secretary Clinton’s private transcribed interview related to her email arrangement as well as her public appearance before the Committee.
 
Sincerely,
 
Trey Gowdy
Chairman
March 27, 2015

Statement Regarding Subpoena Compliance and Server Determination by Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton

Washington, DC—Select Committee on Benghazi Chairman Trey Gowdy today issued the following statement regarding former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton’s response to the committee’s subpoena. She failed to produce a single new document and refused to relinquish her server to a neutral, detached third party for an independent review of potential public records:

“After seeking and receiving a two week extension from the Committee, Secretary Clinton failed to provide a single new document to the subpoena issued by the Committee and refused to provide her private server to the Inspector General for the State Department or any other independent arbiter for analysis.

“We learned today, from her attorney, Secretary Clinton unilaterally decided to wipe her server clean and permanently delete all emails from her personal server.  While it is not clear precisely when Secretary Clinton decided to permanently delete all emails from her server, it appears she made the decision after October 28, 2014, when the Department of State for the first time asked the Secretary to return her public record to the Department.

“Not only was the Secretary the sole arbiter of what was a public record, she also summarily decided to delete all emails from her server ensuring no one could check behind her analysis in the public interest.”

“In light of the Secretary’s unprecedented email arrangement with herself and her decision nearly two years after she left office to permanently delete all emails and because the equities at stake involve not only those of the Select Committee and Congress more broadly, but also those of the American people and their right to the full record of her tenure as secretary of State, we will work with the leadership of the House of Representatives as the Committee considers next steps. But it is clear Congress will need to speak with the former Secretary about her email arrangement and the decision to permanently delete those emails.”

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March 20, 2015

Select Committee on Benghazi Formally Requests Clinton Turn Over Server to Neutral Third Party

Washington, DC-- Select Committee on Benghazi Chairman Trey Gowdy today sent a letter requesting former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton turn over the server she used for official State Department business to the State Department inspector general or a neutral third party for independent analysis of what records should be in the public domain.

“Though Secretary Clinton alone is responsible for causing this issue, she alone does not get to determine its outcome,” said Gowdy, R-S.C. “That is why in the interest of transparency for the American people, I am formally requesting she turn the server over to the State Department’s inspector general or a mutually agreeable third party.

“An independent analysis of the private server Secretary Clinton used for the official conduct of U.S. government business is the best way to remove politics and personal consideration from the equation. Having a neutral, third-party arbiter such as the State Department IG do a forensic analysis and document review is an eminently fair and reasonable means to determine what should be made public. 

“As I have said many times, we have no interest in Secretary Clinton’s personal emails, but the American people have a clear right to the public records from her time as secretary of State.”

The letter transmitted today to the former secretary’s personal attorney lays out the Select Committee’s exhaustive efforts to acquire her official communications regarding Libya as part of the committee’s inquiry into the 2012 Benghazi terrorist attacks.

The letter also notes the former secretary’s unprecedented email arrangement involving the use of private email and a server to maintain exclusive control over her official record while in office.

Gowdy has previously said he would support the server being turned over to a retired federal judge, an archivist or other inspector general to make public record determinations, and he reiterated his willingness to work to find a neutral arbiter that is agreeable to all concerned. He also stressed the importance of the committee getting a responsive and complete set of Libya-related documents from State Department to help expedite the committee’s inquiry.

Editor’s Note:  Attached is a link to the letter Chairman Gowdy sent to Clinton’s attorney.

March 10, 2015

Gowdy Statement on Clinton Press Conference

Washington, DC-  Select Committee on Benghazi Chairman Trey Gowdy, R-S.C., issued the following statement in response to the press conference held by former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton:

“Having finally heard from Secretary Clinton about her exclusive use of personal email with which to conduct official business while serving as Secretary of State, regrettably we are left with more questions than answers. For instance, there remain serious questions about the security of the system she employed from a national security standpoint, who authorized this exclusive use of personal email despite guidance to the contrary from both her State Department and the White House, who had access to the server from the time Secretary Clinton left office until the time—almost two years later—the State Department asked for these public records back, and who culled through the records to determine which were personal and which were public.

“Without access to Secretary Clinton’s personal server, there is no way for the State Department to know it has acquired all documents that should be made public, and given State’s delay in disclosing the fact Secretary Clinton exclusively used personal email to conduct State business, there is no way to accept State’s or Secretary Clinton’s certification she has turned over all documents that rightfully belong to the American people. That is why I see no choice but for Secretary Clinton to turn her server over to a neutral, detached third-party arbiter who can determine which documents should be public and which should remain private. Secretary Clinton alone created this predicament, but she alone does not get to determine its outcome. These public records at issue are broader than Libya and broader than Benghazi. The Secretary of State has enormous responsibility and jurisdiction and the public, the media and Congress have a legal right to access these public records without impediment. 

“Because Secretary Clinton has created more questions than answers, the Select Committee is left with no choice but to call her to appear at least twice. The first appearance will be to clear up her role and resolve issues surrounding her exclusive use of personal email to conduct official business. This is necessary to establish our Committee has a complete record with respect to Secretary Clinton’s time in office. Our committee will then call her to appear before the Committee in a public hearing to answer questions specifically regarding Libya and the Benghazi terrorist attacks that took the lives of our four brave fellow citizens.”

March 4, 2015

Statement from the Communications Director on Subpoena Issuance

Select Committee on Benghazi Communications Director Jamal D. Ware issued the following statement regarding the issuance of a subpoena for former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton’s emails: 

“The Select Committee on Benghazi today issued subpoenas for all communications of former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton related to Libya and to the State Department for other individuals who have information pertinent to the investigation. The Committee also has issued preservation letters to internet firms informing them of their legal obligation to protect all relevant documents.”

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March 4, 2015

Statement from the Communications Director on Clinton Email Addresses

Select Committee on Benghazi Communications Director Jamal D. Ware issued the following statement regarding the use of multiple email addresses by former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton:

“The Select Committee on Benghazi is in possession of records with two separate and distinct email addresses used by former Secretary Clinton and dated during the time she was Secretary of State.  

"Without access to the relevant electronic information and stored data on the server—which was reportedly registered to her home—there is no way the Committee, or anyone else, can fully explain why the Committee uncovered two email addresses.

“As Chairman Gowdy has noted, this is why former Secretary Clinton’s exclusive use of personal emails to conduct official U.S. government business is so problematic and raises significant issues for transparency. The American people have a right to a full accounting of all the former Secretary’s emails, and the Committee is committed to working to uncover all the facts.”

February 6, 2015

Select Committee on Benghazi Announces Commencement of Interviews

Washington, DC—Select Committee on Benghazi Chairman Trey Gowdy today revealed the Select Committee will begin interviews with requested State Department personnel as early as next week. The interviews will run through April and be followed by another series of interviews with senior Executive Branch and administration officials.

“I am announcing an ambitious timeline for interviews consistent with my plan to speed-up the pace of the investigation” said Gowdy, R-S.C. “I intend to stay with this schedule and will issue subpoenas if necessary.”

The timeline and witness list were contained in a letter to Ranking Member Elijah Cummings, D-Md., seeking Democrats’ input on witnesses.

In another bipartisan attempt to get Democrats to focus on the substance of the investigation at hand, instead of process complaints, Chairman Gowdy once again reached out to Mr. Cummings.

“I welcome input from the minority and hope they will provide it expeditiously,” Gowdy said. “If not, I have been forthcoming and transparent about the Committee’s plan to move forward.”


January 29, 2015

Select Committee on Benghazi Announces Rules, Scope

Washington, DC—Select Committee on Benghazi Chairman Trey Gowdy today announced the committee will continue to operate under the rules and scope laid out for it by the House after Democrats refused multiple times to accept a negotiated rules package over demands for veto power over subpoenas.

“I am unwilling to let the minority party veto subpoenas when it is clear they have prejudged the outcome of the investigation," said Gowdy, R-S.C. “The minority has repeatedly indicated it is unwilling to issue any subpoenas. If subpoenas are necessary for the committee to talk to relevant witnesses or access relevant documents, they will be issued.

Gowdy added with the Democrats’ refusal to accept a compromise on committee rules, the committee will continue operating under the rules and scope set out for it in House Resolution 567 and reiterated in House Resolution 5 of the 114th Congress.

The scope of the Select Committee’s investigation includes, but is not limited to: security decisions and military posture prior to the attack, the terrorist attack that occurred in Benghazi on September 11, 2012, the Executive Branch’s response to the attack, the Executive Branch’s efforts to identify and bring to justice the perpetrators of the attack on U.S. facilities in Benghazi, Libya on September 11, 2012, the Executive Branch’s response to congressional inquiries and subpoenas, recommendations for improving executive branch cooperation and compliance with congressional oversight, and lessons learned from the attacks and efforts to protect United States facilities and personnel abroad, according to the resolution’s accompanying report.

“I will continue to move the investigation forward in a fair and impartial manner, but I will not allow the minority’s political games and unreasonable demands to interfere with the investigation,” said Gowdy. “The time for negotiations has passed, and the Committee is moving on under the rules and scope approved by Congress.”

January 27, 2015

Gowdy Opening Statement at Benghazi Select Committee Hearing

As prepared for delivery

This committee exists because the House of Representatives voted for it to exist and in the process made it very clear what is expected. If you have not read the House resolution authorizing this committee, I would encourage you to do so. For those asking for a roadmap, or the scope of the investigation, or asking what the committee intends to look into, the resolution passed by the House of Representatives, including seven Democrats, answers all of those questions.

The Resolution asks this committee to investigate: “all policies, decisions and activities” related to the attacks, the preparation before the attacks, the response during the attacks, efforts to repel the attacks, the administration’s response after the attacks and Executive branch efforts to comply with congressional inquiries.   The operative word in the resolution is the word “all” and the word “all” is about as comprehensive a word as you could use.

So it stands to reason if you are asked to conduct a full and complete investigation into all policies, decisions and activities, you need access to all witnesses, all relevant documents, and all information. Our final task is to write a comprehensive report with recommendations on how to prevent future attacks.  To write a comprehensive report, you need access to all witnesses and all relevant documents.

Many members of this committee conducted investigations before coming to congress.  So they know it is essential that we talk to every witness and examine all evidence.  If six people witness an important event you cannot credibly report on that event by examining one out of the six, or two out of the six.  Each witness has a different perspective.  Each witness may have observed a different fact.  Each witness has a different vantage point.  So you need to interview all witnesses.

And time is of the essence. The world is not a safer place than it was in 2012 so the sooner we make recommendations related to improvements the better for the women and men serving us abroad.  Moreover time does not make evidence or investigations better.

The purpose of today’s hearing is to hear from some agencies and entities about the state of compliance with requests for documents and access to witnesses.    We have had some success.  The State Department provided the Committee with 25,000 pages of documents previously provided to the Oversight Committee, but now with fewer redactions.  In addition, this production included, finally, 15,000 new pages of documents. These documents include significantly more traffic from State Department leadership than in previously provided information to Congress.

These new documents are a reminder no previous standing committee compiled or had access to a complete record of the events, and is precisely why the Speaker constituted a Select Committee to produce a complete, definitive record for the American public.

Additionally, as of last Thursday night, the CIA finally made available some of the documents we requested—documents, they claimed were ready for review back in November.  

While it is good to finally receive the new documents, the pace at which this process is moving is not conducive to the Committee’s work.  It should not take a public hearing to make progress on these requests.  Our hearings should be about substance, not process.  We should be analyzing documents not waiting for them to appear

I want to read a quote: “I can promise you that if you're not getting something that you have evidence of or you think you ought to be getting, we'll work with you. And I will appoint somebody to work directly with you starting tomorrow, with you, Mr. Chairman, to have a review of anything you don't think you've gotten that you're supposed to get. Let's get this done, folks.”  That was Secretary John Kerry talking about Benghazi at a hearing before another committee of congress. That was in April of 2013.   

The Committee has tried to work with the Administration but we are not able to do the job we were instructed to do if we do not have access to all the information and in a timely fashion.

So, there will be mystery to my questions today.  There will be no trickery or artifice.  I want to know when the agencies are going to comply with the requests made by this committee so we can finish the work assigned to us.  The sooner we have access to the documents and witnesses, the sooner we can process the information, write a report, make recommendations and conclude this committee.  I have zero interest in prolonging the work of this committee.  By the same token I know all too well that time is the enemy of accuracy when it comes to evidence.

So, let me be as clear, we intend to access all of the information necessary to do the job the House instructed us to do.  And we need to access that information now.  Talking to only some of the witnesses will not work.  Accessing only some of the documents will not work.  If you want all of the truth, you need all of the information.  That is what this committee is going to do.  We will do it in a respectful way worthy of the memory of the four who sacrificed their lives for this country and worthy of the respect of our fellow citizens.  But it is going to be done and the sooner the agencies make the documents and witnesses available, the sooner we can do what we were asked to do.