Twenty months after the attack in Benghazi that killed US Ambassador Chris Stevens and three other Americans, and twenty months of coverups by The White House, the mainstream media can no longer whine that Benghazi is not a cover-up+.
A Freedom of Information Act request from the Judicial Watch organization resulted in the release of damning emails. Two days later, House Speaker John Boehner announced his intention to schedule a vote for a select committee to investigate the Benghazi attack.
White House spokesman Jay Carney tried to laugh off this development at a press conference Thursday. What Carney thinks has no bearing on what Congress will do, and lawmakers found serious reasons to pursue what amounted to the abandonment of Americans in danger. John Boehner feels president Obama and his administration misled the American people after the attack on September 11, 2012.
Thanks to the FOI release, emails clearly show the White House withheld documents from congressional investigators. Many Democrats and the mainstream media want the public to believe this is a smokescreen and pure supposition. Boehner said, “Americans learned this week that the Obama administration is so intent on obstructing the truth about Benghazi that it is even willing to defy subpoenas issued by the standing committees of the People’s House.”
We know that there have been no charges laid over the attack, but a New York Times reporter actually met with one of the admitted terrorists in a public cafe in Libya. The media may be more powerful than The White House!
The Obama administration has been dismissive and evasive, Boehner said, “I intend for this select committee to have robust authority, and I will expect it to work quickly to get answers for the American people and the families of the victims.”
The new sheriff in town who will lead the investigations is Trey Gowdy, a new star in republican ranks. On Friday, he announced evidence that shows an effort by the Obama administration to keep requested documents on the Benghazi affair from congressmen who were trying to investigate the attack.
Speaking about the Obama administration’s meddling after the attacks killed four Americans including ambassador Chris Stevens, Gowdy said, “I have evidence that, not only are they hiding it, there’s an intent to hide it.” Speaking on Greta Van Susteren’s Fox news show, “On the record,” the South Carolina Republican added, “I can’t disclose that evidence yet, but I have evidence that there was a systematic, intentional decision to withhold certain documents from Congress.”
The South Carolina representative has been an aggressive and articulate spokesman for the GOP House. His sincere outrage has been the catalyst in the pursuit of the truth on the Benghazi tragedy that took place on September 11, 2012.
From what we have already seen from him, Gowdy will not shy from asking deep and sometimes embarrassing questions of his witnesses.
The House will vote on a resolution to establish the panel next week and it is expected to pass on a party vote.
The reason Trey Gowdy appears to be a fearless investigator is that the 49-year-old representative is a former prosecutor, and is now in his second House term. He has an authoritative voice, that he used to accuse the White House of a cover-up shortly after Secretary of State John Kerry questioned being subpoenaed by the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee.
Another GOP firebrand, California GOP Rep. Darrell Issa, wants Kerry to explain why the panel did not receive a 2012 email showing Deputy National Security Adviser Ben Rhodes counseled former U.N. Ambassador Susan Rice to link the Benghazi attacks to an anti-Muslim video.
Kerry had previously pledged to cooperate with congressional investigations of the attacks, but little cooperation was forthcoming.
Gowdy was obviously not happy with John Kerry or his lack of promised help. “[Kerry] said a year ago, with respect to Benghazi, ‘If you have any trouble getting information, let me know,'” he told Van Susteren. “Well, Mr. Secretary, we’re going to let you know that we’re not getting the information. We’re going to get him to come and explain why we’re getting documents 20 months late.”
Gowdy thinks the Rhodes memo unearthed in the Judicial Watch FOI request, is the key to the coverup. That email also convinced Speaker Boehner to convene a select committee.
The new committee is to combine all previous investigating committees into one “super” committee with subpoena power. Gowdy said, “Not only are we trying to get answers with respect to Benghazi, we’re also now investigating what appears to be a White House cover-up in one of the worst explanations for why they didn’t turn the documents over. I think the speaker just finally lost his patience. I’m glad he did what he did.”
Gowdy said the chairmen on the previous committees did the best they could with the information they received and the powers they had. “Our chairmen have done the best job they can do, but you have a tendency to stick within your own bailiwick – and we need somebody to cross all lines. We need to have those lines disappear, quite frankly.”
This committee will be able to cross all jurisdictional lines.
Asked if he will be on the select committee, Gowdy told Greata Van Susteren, “The speaker will decide whether he thinks an old, washed-up prosecutor from South Carolina is good or not, but I’m going to help the committee – regardless of whatever position, if any, I have.”
There’s going to be a hot time in the old town now!
