The No Accountability Administration

Gary Bauer, Contributing Author: As you know, four Americans, including the U.S. ambassador, were killed on September 11, 2012, during a series of attacks against our consulate in Benghazi, Libya. An independent commission, led by former Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Adm. Mike Mullen, blasted Hillary Clinton's State Department for "systemic failures and leadership and management deficiencies."

In response to the report, then-Secretary of State Clinton placed four mid-level officials on administrative leave in December. They have been on paid leave for the past eight months. (Wouldn't you love to get "punished" like that -- no work and with pay? Only in Washington, D.C.)

But this week, after another "thorough review" determined that none of the individuals "breached their duty," the bureaucrats were cleared of all responsibility and installed back in their jobs by Secretary of State John Kerry.

Keep in mind that their suspensions had nothing to do with covering up the events that took place in Benghazi that night. These individuals were suspended because of the dereliction of duty in responding to repeated pleas from Americans on the ground for more security PRIOR to the attack.

You may recall that Eric Nordstrom, a former security officer in Libya, testified before Congress about his frustration in dealing with the State Department, which kept rejecting his requests for additional security. Nordstrom said, "For me the Taliban is on the inside of the building," referring to the State Department.

So if these folks didn't do anything wrong, why did Hillary kick them out? One of the four, Raymond Maxwell, has always maintained he was wrongly scapegoated.

Members of Congress are furious. Rep. Darrell Issa (R-CA), chairman of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, said:"Instead of accountability, the State Department offered a charade that included false reports of firings and resignations and now ends in a game of musical chairs where no one misses a single day on the State Department payroll. It is now clear that the personnel actions taken by the department in response to the Benghazi terrorist attacks were more of a public relations strategy than a measured response to a failure in leadership."Under pressure from senators during her testimony before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee as to why our consulate in Benghazi was attacked, Hillary famously screamed, "What difference does it make?" It is increasingly clear that to this administration none of it makes any difference. No one is being held accountable -- not the terrorists who attacked our consulate nor the bureaucrats who denied requests for additional security.

Speaking of zero accountability, even though Hillary claimed responsibility for Benghazi, she now demands $200,000 in speaking fees. Unless the GOP is able to get its act together, she is on the way to becoming president of the United States in spite of the Benghazi fiasco.
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Gary Bauer is a conservative family values advocate and serves as president of American Values and chairman of the Campaign for Working Families

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