Trey Gowdy’s Benghazi setback: New humiliation for GOP’s scandal hunter
As the GOP's Benghazi committee schedules its first hearing, another committee finds no evidence of a conspiracy
SIMON MALOY
In case you were at all concerned that the relative lack of Benghazi news of late meant that the issue was finally receding after nearly two years of intensive and fruitless investigation, fear not: in just a few short weeks, Benghazi-mania will live and breathe again. Rep. Trey Gowdy, chair of the House select committee tasked with beating whatever Benghazi bushes and dead horses remain, announced on July 30 that his committees first hearings will take place in September. If past is prologue, then Gowdys people will likely take advantage of the slow August news cycles and leak a few stripped-of-context tidbits to some bored and easily misled reporters. With the midterms bearing down, youll have all the necessary ingredients for yet more obsessive Benghazi scandal coverage.
Its still not clear, though, what exactly anyone hopes to learn from Gowdys investigation, given that Benghazi has already been scrutinized several times over by several different congressional committees, all of which concluded that Benghazi was a tragedy, but there was no administration conspiracy, and no cover-up. And the day after Gowdy announced when his first hearings would be held, yet another committee reached the same conclusion.
On July 31, the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence voted in favor of releasing a declassified version of its findings from its investigation into Benghazi. Almost immediately, the top-ranking Democrats on the committee started broadcasting the reports conclusions. Ranking member Rep. Dutch Ruppersberger released a statement saying:
The report also shows that the process used to develop the talking points was flawed, but that the talking points reflected the conflicting intelligence assessments in the days immediately following the crisis. Finally, the report demonstrates that there was no illegal activity or illegal arms sales occurring at U.S. facilities in Benghazi. And there was absolutely no evidence, in documents or testimony, that the Intelligence Communitys assessments were politically motivated in any way.
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http://www.salon.com/2014/08/04/trey_gowdys_benghazi_setback_new_humiliation_for_gops_scandal_hunter/