Benghazi's Back!

 Gary Bauer, Contributing Author: Revelations about White House emails connected to Susan Rice's infamous Benghazi talking points have put the issue back on the front pages. And there are major developments breaking today.

The Obama White House and its Democrat allies on Capitol Hill are in full damage control mode. Even the liberal media are starting to turn on them.

CNN's Jake Tapper described the White House spin on the emails as "dissembling, obfuscating and insulting." National Journal's Ron Fournier said, "as someone who . . . wants to see my White House succeed, it was painful yesterday to watch that briefing and get 'Baghdad Bob' flashbacks. It was embarrassing."

On Fox News yesterday, Bret Baier had this exchange with Tommy Vietor, a former Obama spokesman at the National Security Council:
BAIER: Did you also change 'attacks' to 'demonstrations' in the talking points?
VIETOR: Maybe. I don't really remember.
BAIER: You don't remember?
VIETOR: Dude, this was two years ago. We're still talking about the most mundane thing.
BAIER: Dude, it's what everybody is talking about.House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi predictably feigned outrage. In response to a reporter's question, Pelosi said, "… diversion, subterfuge. Benghazi, Benghazi, Benghazi. Why aren't we talking about something else?"

We're talking about Benghazi because four Americans died and Obama lied!

On Capitol Hill yesterday the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee heard from retired Air Force Brigadier General Robert Lovell. During the Benghazi attacks, Lovell was serving as Deputy Director for Intelligence for AFRICOM.

In response to intense questioning from Rep. Jim Jordan (R-OH) and Jason Chaffetz (R-UT), Lovell acknowledged that for the first time in his military career, he was prevented from doing what he was trained to do: "move to the sound of the guns." He sat frustrated as "discussions churned on" at Hillary Clinton's State Department about what to do.

While questions remain whether our forces could have successfully intervened, Lovell told the committee, "The point is we should have tried." He's right.

But we didn't try because, as the general said, "There was a lot of deference to the desires of the State Department about what they wanted us to do."

My thanks to Representatives Jordan and Chaffetz for going for the jugular. As frustrating as this sorry episode has been, House conservatives have done everything possible to expose the gross failures of the Obama/Clinton Administration.

Benghazi will remain an albatross around Hillary's neck, one that she will have to keep in mind as she considers 2016. The outrage that we all felt at the time is proving to be justified.

Subpoenas & Special Committees - This morning, Rep. Darrell Issa, chairman of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, issued a subpoena to Secretary of State John Kerry ordering him to appear before the committee on May 21st. Issa is demanding to know why the emails from White House Deputy National Security Adviser Ben Rhodes were not released sooner and why they were instead given to Judicial Watch and not congressional investigators.

In his letter to Secretary Kerry, Issa wrote:"The State Department's response to the congressional investigation of the Benghazi attack has shown a disturbing disregard for the Department's legal obligations to Congress. . . .Compliance with a subpoena for documents is not a game. . . . It is disturbing and perhaps criminal . . . that documents like these were hidden by the Obama administration from Congress and the public alike."Soon afterwards, news broke that Speaker John Boehner will move to form a special select committee to investigate the Benghazi scandal. Congratulations to Rep. Frank Wolf (R-VA) who has tirelessly pushed for a select committee! Here are excerpts of Speaker Boehner's statement:"The administration's withholding of documents -- emails showing greater White House involvement in misleading the American people -- is a flagrant violation of trust and undermines the basic principles of oversight upon which our system of government is built. And it forces us to ask the question, what else about Benghazi is the Obama administration still hiding from the American people? ...

"This dismissiveness and evasion requires us to elevate the investigation to a new level. 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. Four Americans died at the hands of terrorists nearly 20 months ago, and we are still missing answers, accountability, and justice. It's time that change."
Various sources report that Rep. Trey Gowdy (R-SC), a former prosecutor, is being seriously considered to lead the committee. Gowdy would be an excellent choice.

Boehner's move is certainly a step in the right direction. But our ability to achieve accountability from this Chicago gang occupying the White House will increase dramatically if we take back the Senate this November!
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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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