The Democrats have complained that the Benghazi hearings have been a partisan exercise. They easily forget that the White House's attempt to cover up the cause of the Benghazi attacks is as partisan as it gets.
Within hours of the Sept. 11, 2012, attack on the U.S. diplomatic compound in Benghazi, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton ran with the narrative that they were merely protests over an Internet video offensive to Muslims. At around 10 p.m., Clinton issued a statement saying that "some have sought to justify this vicious behavior as a response to inflammatory material posted on the Internet," according to Factcheck.org.
The next day she made a State Department speech in which she used language almost identical to her initial statement, saying the "vicious behavior" was "a response to inflammatory material posted on the Internet."
Also on Sept. 12, 2012, President Obama alluded to an anti-Muslim video as being the cause of the attack. He also discussed "acts of terror" in a general way, but wouldn't call the violence that killed four Americans terrorism because, he said, "it's too early to know exactly how this came about."
Five days after the Tuesday attack, U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Susan Rice appeared on five talk shows to explain that the assault was spontaneous. She called it a "consequence of a video."
What the administration said behind closed doors, however, was a different story.
During Clinton's testimony Thursday before the House Select Committee on Benghazi, Republican Rep. Jim Jordan disclosed emails from the State Department's Near East Affairs Bureau that said Rice "was off the reservation on this one" and "off the reservation on five networks."
Another email said the White House was "very worried about the politics" with an election coming up. "This was all their doing."
Clinton herself emailed her family an hour or so after making her official statement that blamed the video, admitting that "two officers were killed today in Benghazi by an al-Qaida-like group."
There is also a damning Sept. 12, 2012, call from Clinton to Egyptian Prime Minister Hisham Qandil, in which she says, "We know that the attack in Libya had nothing to do with the film. It was a planned attack — not a protest. ... We believe the group that claimed responsibility for this was affiliated with al-Qaida."
And, as we noted in our blog, there is, as well, a Sept. 12, 2012, State Department cable that says the attack was "an organized operation"carried out by a "Salafi terrorism group" wanting revenge for the killing of an al-Qaida terrorist.
Americans died, then Clinton went before the country and lied. Her dishonesty for partisan gain should not go unpunished.
Read More At Investor's Business Daily: http://news.investors.com/ibd-editorials/102315-777179-people-died-clinton-lied-benghazi-emails-reveal-the-facts.htm#ixzz3pfmPA2ve
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