From FNC Catherine Herridge: “7 page email about Fox ….circulated at the highest levels of the White House….is being withheld by the state department, citing executive branch deliberations”
Fox news learning new details of a seven page email — circulated at the highest levels of the white house – apparently to come up with a media strategy to deal with a fox news report- is being withheld by the state department, citing executive branch deliberations.
The report, which is the subject line of the emails, “Fox News: US officials knew Libya attack was terrorism within 24 hours, sources confirm” was circulated september 27th and September 28th 2012 concluded the intelligence community knew benghazi was terrorism within 24 hours.
On the email chain, among others, Denis McDonough, the president’s deputy national security adviser during Benghazi, John Brennan former White House counterterrorism adviser and now CIA Director, then deputy director of the CIA Michael Morell, and presidential aide Ben Rhodes who sent the email September 14th 2012, critics say, attempted to shape the public discussion of Benghazi.
Chris Farrell with Judicial Watch which is suing for the documents, including the email related to the Fox News report, said “A 7-page dialogue concerning one Fox News report to me uh demonstrates um an alarm bell situation where they are reacting to and trying to shape a response or commentary to react to or to shut down reporting.”
“The reporting itself would appear to be at odds or at least to challenge strongly the White House position that had been announced. And so this report from Fox News would run counter to what the Obama administration was attempting to put out there as their position.”
Catherine V. Herridge
Chief Intelligence Correspondent
Fox News Channel
Benghazi, Herridge
Tag: Benghazi
Attkisson Charges ‘Well-Orchestrated Strategy’ Underway to Diminish Benghazi Coverage
Attkisson Charges ‘Well-Orchestrated Strategy’ Underway to Diminish Benghazi Coverage
Former CBS investigative journalist Sharyl Attkisson had some harsh words to share about the Obama administration and its supporters while she was a guest on Monday morning’s Fox & Friends program.
After viewing some clips from Sunday’s edition of ABC’s This Week With George Stephanopoulos in which conservative pundit Laura Ingraham and Democratic analyst David Plouffe clashed over the death of four Americans in Benghazi on Sept. 11, 2012, Attkisson said she believes that a concerted effort is taking place to divert investigations into that deadly attack, an effort that is being orchestrated by people close to the White House.
Read more: https://newsbusters.org/blogs/randy-hall/2014/05/05/attkisson-charges-well-orchestrated-strategy-underway-diminish-benghazi-#ixzz30zDupmgR
Does a Benghazi Select Committee Matter?
Does a Benghazi Select Committee Matter?
Amy Payne
May 6, 2014 at 6:30 am
House Republicans are moving to set up a select committee to investigate the Benghazi attacks. The House could vote this week on establishing the panel, which House Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) has said would be led by Rep. Trey Gowdy (R-S.C.), a former federal prosecutor.
Helle Dale, a Heritage expert who has followed the Benghazi scandal closely, said this “could be a giant step toward unraveling the real story behind the Benghazi attack, which cost four brave Americans their lives, and the cover-up that has denied Americans the truth.”
>>> See four essential questions the Benghazi select committee should tackle
What is a select committee, and is this move useful? The Foundry asked Heritage legal expert Hans von Spakovsky.
The Foundry: What is a congressional select committee?
Hans von Spakovsky: Select committees can be set up to perform a particular function, often to perform a specific investigation. They are usually created by a resolution that specifies the duties and powers of the select committee, including when its authority will expire. Such committees are particularly useful when jurisdiction over a particular subject is shared by several regular committees, which can lead to confusion and conflicting actions.
Who sets it up, and what jurisdiction/authority does it have?
In this case, Speaker John Boehner has announced his intention to set up the committee and appoint Rep. Trey Gowdy as its head. The House still has to vote to establish the committee. The resolution setting it up (which hasn’t been released yet) will establish its jurisdiction, but in general, select committees can subpoena and depose witnesses, call them to public hearings, and hire lawyers to work as special investigators.
How does a select committee differ from appointing a special counsel to investigate something?
Only the Attorney General can appoint a special counsel to investigate a matter. For example, House Republicans are also talking about asking for a special counsel to look into the IRS’s targeting of conservative nonprofits. The chances of Eric Holder granting that are just about nil.
Does it have the power to punish people?
If, for example, they decided to vote someone in contempt of Congress—for failing to appear or provide testimony—the full House would have to approve that. If Congress had to enforce a contempt citation in federal court, a judge could order the witness who is in contempt to provide testimony, and if the witness doesn’t, the judge could impose jail time or a civil fine. You know, it probably hasn’t been done since the 1800s, but the House does have the power to seize someone who is in contempt of the House. The sergeant-at-arms can seize someone and put them in a jail cell in the House.
What kind of results have select committees produced in the past?
One of the most well-known select committees was the Church Committee chaired by Senator Frank Church (D-Idaho) in 1975 that investigated intelligence gathering by the CIA, NSA and FBI. Its findings led to new laws imposing restrictions on how we gather intelligence, which some believe are at least partly responsible for the intelligence failures related to the attacks on Sept. 11, 2001.
So are select committees focused on producing new laws?
On Benghazi, I think this committee would be driving toward finding out exactly what happened; why the security of the consulate in Benghazi was so inadequate; what failures there were at the State Department and potentially the Pentagon for not being able to respond once the attack started; and coming up with recommendations to prevent anything like this from happening again. In addition to legislative recommendations, they could make recommendations for disciplining or terminating employees if they find wrongful behavior.
It’s been some time since the Benghazi attack on Sept. 11, 2012. Is it helpful to start the investigation now?
A select committee would not have to start from scratch; it would have the benefit of all of the information uncovered to date by the committees in the House of Representatives that have been investigating these matters. But this committee would have the advantage of a single-minded focus on the issue—including dedicated staff—as compared to the regular House committees that have numerous other responsibilities and duties in many different areas.
I had thought this would have happened sooner, but thank goodness it’s finally happening.
Is this just for show, or will it have substance to it?
I think it will have substance to it. And it’s important because four Americans were killed, and it looks like they were needlessly killed—that if the right security steps were taken, they would not have died. I think this is very important for the future safety of American diplomatic personnel.
Boehner taps Gowdy to lead Benghazi select committee
Boehner taps Gowdy to lead Benghazi select committee
By Russell Berman – 05/05/14 01:38 PM EDT
Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) has named Rep. Trey Gowdy (R-S.C.), a second-term Republican and former federal prosecutor, to head a new House select committee investigating the deaths of four Americans in Benghazi, Libya, on Sept. 11, 2012.
Gowdy was the preferred choice of Boehner and Majority Leader Eric Cantor (R-Va.) to take on what will be a high-profile assignment for the GOP over the next several months. The deep-voiced South Carolinian is known for his prosecutorial style in questioning witnesses at hearings as well as his impassioned floor speeches.
“Trey Gowdy is as dogged, focused, and serious-minded as they come,” Boehner said in a statement announcing the appointment on Monday. “His background as a federal prosecutor and his zeal for the truth make him the ideal person to lead this panel.
“I know he shares my commitment to get to the bottom of this tragedy and will not tolerate any stonewalling from the Obama administration,” Boehner continued.
“I plan to ensure he and his committee have the strongest authority possible to root out all the facts,” he added. “This is a big job, but Rep. Gowdy has the confidence of this conference, and I know his professionalism and grit will earn him the respect of the American people.”
The battle to get WH Benghazi emails
The battle to get WH Benghazi emails
By Kristina Wong – 05/03/14 09:43 AM EDT
It took 18 months for Judicial Watch to unearth the emails on Benghazi that led Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) on Friday to say he’s forming a special committee to look into the issue.
“This material was not voluntarily disclosed,” Judicial Watch President Tom Fitton told The Hill during a phone interview.
The emails have given new life to Republican attacks on Benghazi. They include a key email from White House official Ben Rhodes outlining “goals” for the talk-show appearances of Susan Rice, who was serving as ambassador to the United Nations at the time.
After the emails, Rice appeared on television and linked the attack in Benghazi to protests of an anti-Islamic video that were occurring in the Middle East.
Rhodes said Rice should “underscore that these protests are rooted in an Internet video, and not a broader failure of policy.”
Judicial Watch made its request for documents under the Freedom of Information Act. It requested talking points and any related communications about the attack that were given to Rice.
The group made that request on Oct. 18, 2012, a little more than a month after the terrorist attacked killed four Americans at the U.S. Consulate in Benghazi, Libya.
The State Department acknowledged receipt of the request about a week later, but eight months after that Judicial Watch had not heard whether State would comply with the request, according to court documents.
That led Judicial Watch to sue State on June 21, 2013, for unlawfully withholding information. A district court then ordered the State Department to turn over 41 documents, which were released to the group on April 18, 2014.
Under FOIA, the government is required to release existing documents unless they are exempt under any of nine major categories that protects things like confidential commercial information or personal identification information, said Ginger McCall, director of the Open Government Program at the Electronic Privacy Information Center.
McCall said that if an agency is forced to release information via court order, “it basically means that agency shouldn’t have been withholding the information from the beginning.”
McCall said that most FOIA requesters don’t sue, due to lack of resources, and that “often times the agency, knowing that, will take advantage of that.”
Fitton, the Judicial Watch leaders, charges that State’s refusal to hand over the documents to Congress earlier could be an obstruction of congressional investigations.
Such arguments led Boehner to say Friday he would form a special committee.
He argued that the emails suggested the White House hadn’t been forthcoming with a House subpoena.
Rep. Darrell Issa (R-Calif.), chairman of the Oversight and Government Reform Committee, announced on Friday that he would subpoena Secretary of State John Kerry to testify on the emails.
White House press secretary Jay Carney said this week that the emails were not turned over to Congress because they were not specifically about Benghazi. Fitton said those claims were “ludicrous” and possibly a crime.
“Carney needs to be talking to an attorney and not the press,” he said.
Read more: https://thehill.com/policy/defense/205103-the-18-month-battle-to-get-white-house-benghazi-emails#ixzz30kFztdja
The Senate Intelligence Committee releases a comprehensive report on the Benghazi attack determined that the attack was ‘preventable,’ faults State and Defense departments
“What difference does it make ”
The Senate Intelligence Committee releases a comprehensive report on the Benghazi attack determined that the attack was ‘preventable,’ faults State and Defense departments
~Anastasia
The Senate Intelligence Committee releases a comprehensive report on the Benghazi attack. The report determined that the attack was ‘preventable,’ faults State and Defense departments, and cites failure of Obama administration to ‘bring the attackers to justice.’
The Senate Intelligence Committee has released a comprehensive report on the Benghazi attack finding the tragedy was “preventable” and the administration failed to respond to “ample” warnings that security was deteriorating before Sept. 11, 2012.
The report faulted the State and Defense departments. It also cited the failure of the Obama administration to “bring the attackers to justice.”
Specifically, the report said the intelligence community provided “ample strategic warning” that security in eastern Libya was deteriorating and U.S. personnel “were at risk.” The report said multiple “tripwires” were crossed signaling security problems, and the State
Department should have increased its security posture in response.
The report also detailed a possible failed ambush, where attackers tried to lure the CIA into the hospital where Ambassador Chris Stevens’ body was being held.
The CIA did not take the bait.
“The committee worked on a bipartisan basis to investigate the various allegations that have come out since the terrorist attacks in Benghazi in September 2012 and to get to the truth about what happened leading up to, during and after the attacks,” Senate Intelligence Committee Chairwoman Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., said in a statement, adding she hopes the report puts “conspiracy theories” to rest.
Sen. Saxby Chambliss, R-Ga., top Republican on the panel, also said the report provides “needed and deserved answers.”
“In spite of the deteriorating security situation in Benghazi and ample strategic warnings, the United States Government simply did not do enough to prevent these attacks and ensure the safety of those serving in Benghazi,” he said.
Senate report: Benghazi attackers tied to Al Qaeda groups