Trey Gowdy has had a very, very bad few weeks. After Kevin McCarthy pulled back the curtain on Gowdy’s $4.5 million, taxpayer-funded partisan smear campaign against Hillary Clinton, things have gone downhill very quickly.
Not only has a conservative former Benghazi Committee staffer come forward to allege that he was fired for refusing to engage in relentless political attacks against Hillary Clinton, the media is increasingly calling out Gowdy’s hit job of a committee.
Key Clips:
New York Times: Suit Over Firing Exposes Strife Within Benghazi Panel
Talking Points Memo: Benghazi Committee Chair Declines CNN Interview To Discuss Ex-Staffer’s Allegations
CNN: Ex-staffer: Benghazi committee pursuing ‘partisan investigation’ targeting Hillary Clinton
Crooks and Liars: Rep. Trey Gowdy Melts Down: Blasts CNN, Calls Ex-Staffer A Liar
MSNBC: GOP’s Benghazi Committee starts to unravel
Slate: An Empty Conspiracy
Salon: Benghazi farce blows up in GOP’s face: The political witch hunt faces unwanted scrutiny
The Atlantic: How the Press Can Deal With the Benghazi Committee
POLITICO: House Benghazi committee on the defensive
CNN: Ex-staffer’s lawyers: Benghazi chairman Trey Gowdy breached confidentiality
MSNBC: Exclusive: Ex-Benghazi investigator alleges Rep. Gowdy violated federal law
Staffer Maj. Bradley Podliska Fired for Rejecting Focus on Hillary Clinton
FIRED FOR REJECTING FOCUS SOLELY ON HILLARY CLINTON AND STATE DEPARTMENT
Benghazi Committee staffer, Maj. Bradley Podliska, said he was fired for refusing to focus his investigative efforts solely on the State Department and Hillary Clinton. “Maj. Bradley Podliska, an intelligence officer in the Air Force Reserve who describes himself as a conservative Republican, told CNN that the committee trained its sights almost exclusively on Clinton after the revelation last March that she used a private email server during her tenure as secretary of state. That new focus flipped a broad-based probe of the attack on the U.S. consulate in Benghazi on September 11, 2012, into what Podliska described as ‘a partisan investigation.’ Podliska, who was fired after nearly 10 months as an investigator for the Republican majority, is now preparing to file a lawsuit against the select committee next month, alleging that he lost his job in part because he resisted pressure to focus his investigative efforts solely on the State Department and Clinton’s role surrounding the Benghazi attack.” [CNN, 10/11/15]
Podliska’s investigative work met “escalating resistance from his superiors” who “felt he was not focusing enough on Mrs. Clinton’s alleged mistakes.” “Major Podliska said that when he returned from active duty in late March, much of the committee staff, which had been investigating leads across numerous agencies, had been redeployed to focus primarily on Mrs. Clinton and the State Department. Despite the change in focus, Major Podliska continued to work on his examination of the response in Washington to the attack, only to meet escalating resistance from his superiors, according to his complaint. In his view, they felt he was not focusing enough on Mrs. Clinton’s alleged mistakes, a criticism he considered odd given that his findings were far from favorable to her. ‘My thing was actually related to Hillary — I just wasn’t all in on Hillary,’ he said in the interview. ‘I was finding other officials at other agencies that bore responsibility for the post-attack piece.’” [New York Times, 10/10/15]
Podliska said Trey Gowdy “pulled resources away from probes of other individuals and agencies to focus almost exclusively on Clinton and the State Department.” “Podliska told CNN that the committee, which has spent $4.6 million so far and is chaired by Rep. Trey Gowdy, R-South Carolina, pulled resources away from probes of other individuals and agencies to focus almost exclusively on Clinton and the State Department she helmed for four years. Clinton will testify before the committee for the first time Oct. 22, and the committee is set to release the findings of its investigation next year, in the heat of the presidential race.” [CNN, 10/11/15]
Podliska was fired in late June 2015 after serving 10 months on the committee. “But Podliska, who served nearly 10 months on the committee before he was fired in late June, said the committee’s probe started out as a fact-finding mission before it became an exercise in partisan politics. And unlike Democrats, he hopes that the committee won’t be dismantled, but steered back toward its original mission.” [CNN, 10/11/15]
Maj. Bradley Podliska: “My non-partisan investigative work conflicted with the interests of the Republican leadership, who focused their investigation primarily on Secretary Clinton and her aides.” “Podliska told The Washington Post in a statement Saturday that the committee trained its sights almost exclusively on Clinton after the revelation in March that she used a private e-mail server during her tenure as secretary of state. ‘My non-partisan investigative work conflicted with the interests of the Republican leadership, who focused their investigation primarily on Secretary Clinton and her aides,’ Podliska said in a statement.” [Washington Post, 10/11/15]
FOCUS TURNED TO HILLARY CLINTON AND EMAIL AFTER MARCH NYT STORY
Podliska: After discovery of Hillary Clinton’s use of personal email “there was a renewed vigor in the investigation.” “Things changed for the Benghazi committee on March 2, after The New York Times broke the story of Mrs. Clinton’s email account. There was a growing sense of opportunity within the committee that this could be a lifeline. ‘The committee became relevant again,’ Major Podliska said. ‘There was a renewed vigor in the investigation.’” [New York Times, 10/11/15]
Podliska said after discovering Hillary Clinton’s personal email the “committee’s inquiry ‘changed to focus on Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and the State Department, and deemphasize the other agencies.’” “It was only in the weeks following the March 2 revelation about Clinton’s email server in The New York Times that the committee’s inquiry ‘changed to focus on Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and the State Department, and deemphasize the other agencies that were involved in the Benghazi attacks and the aftermath of the attacks,’ according to a draft of the lawsuit Podliska’s lawyers provided to CNN. When Podliska returned from nearly two weeks of Air Force service at the end of March, he said fellow committee staffers told him the committee’s inquiry had become an ‘agency-centric investigation.’” [CNN, 10/11/15]
Podliska on Benghazi Committee’s focus on Hillary Clinton: “There’s wrongdoing here and I think it needs to stop.” “‘Hillary Clinton has a lot of explaining to do. We, however, did not need to shift resources to hyper focus on Hillary Clinton. We didn’t need to de-emphasize and in some cases drop the investigation on different agencies, different organizations and different individuals,’ Podliska said. ‘There’s wrongdoing here and I think it needs to stop.’” [CNN, 10/11/15]
The deputy Republican staff director told Podliska that “this is taking a turn” after revelations about Hillary Clinton’s personal email account. “Major Podliska described an odd encounter with one of his bosses in April. ‘Keep your head down,’ Major Podliska said, recalling what Christopher Donesa, the committee’s deputy staff director, had told him after praising his progress. Mr. Donesa paused for a moment, according to Major Podliska, then added, ‘This is taking a turn.’ Major Podliska said the committee was becoming focused primarily on the State Department, and in particular on Mrs. Clinton.” [New York Times, 10/11/15]
Rep. Cummings: Podliska’s accusations show “that Kevin McCarthy’s stark admission was true: Republicans have been abusing millions of taxpayer dollars for the illegitimate purpose of damaging Hillary Clinton’s bid for president.” “The top Democrat on the Benghazi committee, Rep. Elijah Cummings of Maryland, claimed former staffer Major Bradley Podliska’s accusations backed up House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy’s recent comments suggesting a slide in Clinton’s poll numbers was linked to the committee’s work. ‘They show — from the inside — that Kevin McCarthy’s stark admission was true: Republicans have been abusing millions of taxpayer dollars for the illegitimate purpose of damaging Hillary Clinton’s bid for president,’ Cummings said in a statement. ‘These are extremely serious whistleblower charges by one of Chairman Gowdy’s own handpicked investigators.’” [CNN, 10/12/15]
Rep. Adam Schiff: “The Republican whistleblower who has come forward only provides further evidence of what has been long evident. It’s time to shut down the Benghazi Select Committee.” “‘Even before Kevin McCarthy’s comments laid bare the true intent of the committee, it’s been clear that Secretary Clinton has been the true target of this investigation, and the Republican whistleblower who has come forward only provides further evidence of what has been long evident. It’s time to shut down the Benghazi Select Committee,’ Schiff said in a statement.” [CNN, 10/12/15]
Podliska Filing Lawsuit Against Committee
Podliska planned to file a wrongful termination suit over his firing. “He is planning to file a lawsuit next month alleging that he was fired in part because he resisted pressure to conduct a skewed investigation focused exclusively on Clinton. He also alleges he was fired because he had to take time off for his military reserve duty.” [CNN, 10/12/15]
The lawsuit would focus on Podliska’s firing related to military leave he was required to take. “Podliska’s attorneys said that the PowerPoint claim — as with others made in the past two days by Gowdy and other Republicans on the committee — is untrue. Napiltonia said that ‘the crux’ of the lawsuit they plan to file against the committee maintains that the panel’s Republican leadership was disenchanted with Podliska because he had to perform military service.” [Washington Post, 10/11/15]
Maj. Bradley Podliska: “I was fired for going on military service, and I was fired for trying to conduct an objective, nonpartisan, thorough investigation.” “Podliska, an Air Force Reserve intelligence officer, plans to file a lawsuit against the panel next month for wrongful termination. Podliska said the termination was twofold: because of his unwillingness to focus his probe solely on Clinton and State but also for taking a leave of absence to fulfill military service obligations. ‘I was fired for going on military service, and I was fired for trying to conduct an objective, nonpartisan, thorough investigation,’ Podliska said.” [Politico, 10/10/15]
Podliska said he was wrongfully terminated “in part, for refusing to focus his investigation on Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton.” “The staffer, Bradley Podliska, who was an investigator on the committee for 10 months, told news outlets Saturday that he planned to file a federal lawsuit against the committee for wrongful termination. Podliska said that he was terminated, in part, for refusing to focus his investigation on Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton.” [Talking Points Memo, 10/11/15]
Podliska sought lost wages, reinstatement to the committee or future wages, and an injunction requiring the committee to follow the uniformed employment law. “In his complaint, Major Podliska, 41, acknowledges that he was told that he was being fired for three infractions, the most serious of which was mishandling classified information, although he disputes the charge. Major Podliska is seeking compensation for lost wages, reinstatement in his former job if possible and, if not, future wages that he will forgo as a result of his termination. He is also seeking an injunction requiring the committee to follow the uniformed employment law.” [New York Times, 10/10/15]
Podliska Accused Gowdy of Violating Confidentiality Rules Regarding Employment Disputes
Podliska attorney: “Both Representative Gowdy and the committee have clearly violated terms of the confidentiality agreement and the Congressional Accountability Act” by releasing information about employment dispute. “‘Both Representative Gowdy and the committee have clearly violated terms of the confidentiality agreement and the Congressional Accountability Act,’ said Peter Romer-Friedman, one of Podliska’s attorneys, to MSNBC on Monday afternoon. The lawyers allege that Gowdy and the committee improperly released confidential information regarding an employment dispute with Podliska, in an effort to discredit him.” [MSNBC, 10/13/15]
Politico: “The committee released the information about the termination of Bradley Podliska in an effort to deflect fallout from an interview he gave to CNN.” “The committee released the information about the termination of Bradley Podliska in an effort to deflect fallout from an interview he gave to CNN in which he joined a chorus of critics who say the Benghazi investigation has become a partisan witch-hunt against Clinton. Podliska said he was fired for taking military leave and because he disagreed with repurposing the investigation to narrowly focus on the State Department — an accusation the committee denies.” [Politico, 10/13/15]
Podliska attorneys: Trey Gowdy “is making false statements” and violating “the Congressional Accountability Act’s ban on disclosing information regarding settlement negotiations.” “‘We are concerned that in his own self-defense Chairman [Trey] Gowdy is making false statements and breaking the federal law that bans the disclosure of private settlement negotiations,’ Podliska’s legal team said in a statement. ‘Chairman Gowdy disclosed specific information about private mediation between the Committee and Major Podliska—disclosures that violate the Congressional Accountability Act’s ban on disclosing information regarding settlement negotiations.’” [Politico, 10/13/15]
GOWDY DISCUSSED DETAILS OF SETTLEMENT DISCUSSIONS
Trey Gowdy: “On September 11th, in his mediation filing, this staffer specifically claimed his reserve status as a basis for his termination.” “The lawmaker said he finds the timing of the claims of committee politicization disturbing, coming just a week after controversial statements by Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.), who said the panel had been ‘successful’ because Clinton’s poll numbers were dropping. ‘On September 11th, in his mediation filing, this staffer specifically claimed his reserve status as a basis for his termination,’ Gowdy said. ‘I would note first this staffer’s reserve duty was approved both times it was requested.’” [Washington Post, 10/11/15]
Trey Gowdy: “This staffer has never mentioned Secretary Clinton as a cause of his termination, and he did not cite Clinton’s name in a legally mandated mediation.” “‘Until his Friday conversations with media, this staffer has never mentioned Secretary Clinton as a cause of his termination, and he did not cite Clinton’s name in a legally mandated mediation,’ Gowdy said. ‘The record makes it clear he himself was focused on Clinton improperly and was instructed to stop, and that issues with his conduct were noted on the record as far back as April.’” [Washington Post, 10/11/15]
MEDIATION AND SETTLEMENT DOCUMENTS LEAKED
Politico obtained a document related to Podliska’s initial complaint against the Benghazi Committee. “His allegation is not mentioned in a preliminary Sept. 11 legal document laying out his case against the panel, according to a copy of that document obtained by POLITICO.” [Politico, 10/10/15]
Politico reported on Podliska’s dispute notice and internal committee emails. “The military service reprisal accusation is the only one mentioned in his Sept. 11 dispute notice to the panel. Podliska in the spring informed the panel he was being called up for more than 30 days of active duty in Germany, which he would have to serve in bits and pieces. He said the panel’s staff director when informed of the matter simply wrote back ‘wow,’ and he says he was never treated the same after he returned from active duty.” [Politico, 10/10/15]
Politico reported on an email from Podliska to the committee’s intern coordinator describing a project on Administration’s talking points. “On Tuesday, June 9, Podliska wrote to the panel’s intern coordinator: ‘I’d like the interns to complete the following tasks for me.’ He listed three tasks, including creating a PowerPoint on all the talking points that came out of the administration following the attack and a ‘master video’ that incorporated something Clinton said in September, emails from deputy national security adviser Ben Rhodes and the controversial ‘talking points’ Rice made on TV.” [Politico, 10/10/15]
Cease-And-Desist Letter Issued to Gowdy
Podliska’s attorneys issued a cease-and-desist letter to Trey Gowdy demanding he stop releasing information about confidential settlement discussions. “They say they are issuing a formal cease-and-desist letter to Gowdy, demanding he stop making statements or releasing information that may violate confidentiality rules for disputes with former congressional staff. They cite a federal law stating that counseling for employee disputes must remain ‘strictly confidential.’ The letter, first obtained by MSNBC, charges that Gowdy has been ‘describing private settlement discussions between the parties that must be treated as confidential under the Congressional Accountability Act, and surely Chairman Gowdy, as a lawyer, knows that he is not permitted to publicly disclose private settlement discussions.’” [MSNBC, 10/13/15]