Benghazi Committee: A Shameless, Partisan Exercise

TO:                   Editorial Boards
FROM:            Brad Woodhouse, President, Correct The Record
RE:                   The House Select Committee on Benghazi’s Final Report
DATE:             June 30, 2016

At Correct The Record, we’ve been closely monitoring and scrutinizing the Benghazi Committee’s activities for more than a year.  When it became clear last spring that Republicans would try to manipulate this tragedy to hurt Hillary Clinton’s 2016 presidential campaign, we mobilized to defend her. We launched the Benghazi Research Center; published The Complete Guide to the Benghazi Select Committee; and responded in real time to the Committee’s 11-hour hearing with Secretary Clinton, fact-checking Chairman Gowdy and his colleagues.

This week, we published Committee No. 10: The True Story of the House Select Committee on Benghazi, the definitive account of how the Committee shamefully exploited the tragic death of four Americans in a desperate attempt to politically damage Hillary Clinton.

Now, as you review the report’s findings, we wanted to share with you what we’ve uncovered about the Committee’s more than two-year, taxpayer-funded investigation into the Benghazi tragedy.

A Shameless, Partisan Exercise

Instead of conducting a genuine investigation into the Benghazi terrorist attack, for over two years the Committee has run a taxpayer-funded witch-hunt against Hillary Clinton. Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy admitted as much when he said last fall that the committee was formed to drive down Clinton’s poll numbers and make her appear “untrustable.” And last year, U.S. Representative Richard Hanna (R-NY) acknowledged that the Committee “was designed to go after people, an individual, Hillary Clinton.” Benghazi Committee Chairman Trey Gowdy even toldFox News that the Benghazi Committee is conducting a political “trial” of Secretary Clinton.

This politicized mission has completely compromised the Committee’s investigation. As The New York Times noted, Gowdy has run the Benghazi Committee more like a “Republican opposition research shop” than a congressional investigation. Republican Committee members have engaged in more than a dozen major leaks. On three occasions, they’ve even given fabricated documents to reporters. Most troublingly, House Republicans have used their positions on the Committee to pad their campaign coffers and shamelessly advance their own political careers.

The Benghazi Committee was able to get away with this by conducting much of their work behind closed doors. Unlike other congressional investigations, the Committee rarely held public hearings. Gowdy repeatedly withheld transcripts of witness testimony and documents from the public and from Democratic Committee members. Throughout the probe, Democratic members were often forced to learn of major developments—like the subpoena of Clinton’s emails—through media reports. The fact that Committee Republicans leaked sections of the final report in the middle of the night, before even showing the report to Democratic members of the Committee, proves just how desperate they are to avoid any public scrutiny.

The Truth Matters

Ten congressional committees have now participated in eight investigations into the Benghazi tragedy. Thirteen reports on the attacks have been published. Since the attack, witnesses have appeared before the committee 252 times. Investigators have reviewed thousands of pages of Secretary Clinton’s emails and spent millions of dollars. None of these investigations have found any evidence of an intelligence failure leading to the Benghazi tragedy or a “stand-down order” that supposedly prevented military personnel from saving the Americans in Benghazi. And, perhaps most telling, not a single investigation has found any wrongdoing by Obama Administration officials.

At Correct The Record, we believe that the truth matters and the American people deserve to know the facts. With the Trump campaign now in meltdown, Republicans will eagerly seize on the Committee’s report to attack Clinton and deflect the problems within their own party. We hope that scrutiny of the Committee’s deeply flawed report from journalists like yourself will expose the truth about the Committee and finally put a rest to the right wing’s exploitation of the death of the four Americans on September 11, 2012. The information following outlines some of the key facts about the Committee’s slow-moving, partisan investigation. Please let us know if you need any additional information.

BENGHAZI INVESTIGATIONS BY THE NUMBERS: A BRIEF HISTORY OF THE COMMITTEE TO DESTROY HILLARY CLINTON

The Benghazi Committee’s partisan witch hunt has come at a steep price. Even before the Benghazi Committee was established in May 2014, the Defense Department estimated that thousands of staffer hours and millions of dollars had already been spent on Benghazi-related investigations. More than two years later, the Benghazi Committee, on an unlimited budget, has spent more than $7 million in taxpayer dollars and is estimated to cost $8,000 a day. In 2015, the Committee spent more than $3.59 million on staff salaries alone.

The results? Only four public hearings and an unrelenting focus on Secretary Clinton’s email—not the tragedy of September 11, 2012. The Benghazi Committee has received more than 100,000 pages of documents from federal agencies and departments—including more than a thousand of Secretary Clinton’s emails. They have interviewed at least 107 witnesses, including a number of State Department and Clinton campaign staffers.  After the relentless, politically-motivated focus on damaging Hillary Clinton, the Committee’s costly two-year investigation has revealed no new significant information about the attacks of September 11, 2012.

COST

• $+23 Million: Minimum total cost to the taxpayers of congressional investigations into Benghazi.
• $14 Million: The State Department has spent more than $14 million responding to congressional investigations into Benghazi.“During yesterday’s meeting, the State Department reported that it has now spent more than $14 million responding to the eight congressional investigations of the Benghazi attacks, turning over tens of thousands of pages of documents, and making dozens of witnesses available for scores of hearings, interviews, and briefings.” [Benghazi Committee Democrats press release, 10/10/15]
• $7.1 Million: The Benghazi Committee’s investigation has cost more than $7.1 million.[Benghazi Investigation: The Cost to Taxpayers ,accessed 6/27/16]
• +$2 Million: The Pentagon said multiple investigations into Benghazi had cost the Department of Defense “millions of dollars.” “The Pentagon said Tuesday that its work to comply with the six congressional investigations into the September 2012 attack in Benghazi, Libya, has cost the military millions of dollars and thousands of man hours. The Pentagon said in a letter to Rep. Adam Smith (Wash.), the top Democrat on the House Armed services Committee, that Defense Department officials have participated in 50 congressional hearings, briefings and interviews about the attack.” [The Hill, 3/22/14]

COMMITTEE PARTICIPATION

10: Number of congressional committees that have participated in Benghazi investigations.

• House Committee on the Judiciary. [Interim Progress Report on Benghazi Investigation,4/23/13]
• House Committee on Armed Services. [Interim Progress Report on Benghazi Investigation,4/23/13]
• House Committee on Foreign Affairs. [Interim Progress Report on Benghazi Investigation,4/23/13]
• House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence. [Interim Progress Report on Benghazi Investigation,4/23/13]
• House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform. [Interim Progress Report on Benghazi Investigation,4/23/13]
• Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Government Affairs. [Flashing Red: A Special Report on the Terrorist Attack at Benghazi,12/30/12]
• Senate Select Committee on Intelligence. [Senate Intelligence Committee press release,10/25/12]
• Senate Committee on Foreign Relations. [Benghazi: The Attacks and the Lessons Learned,1/23/13]
• Senate Committee on Armed Services. [Attack on U.S. Facilities in Benghazi, Libya,2/7/13]
• The Select Committee on Benghazi. [Select Committee on Benghazi,accessed 3/24/15]

PRIOR CONGRESSIONAL INVESTIGATIONS

• 7: Number of prior congressional investigations into the Benghazi tragedy.
  • House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform. [“Interim Report on the Accountability Review Board,” Committee on Oversight and Government Reform 9/16/13]
  • Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Government Affairs. [“Flashing Red: A Special Report on the Terrorist Attack at Benghazi,” the Senate Committee On Homeland Security And Governmental Affairs 12/30/12]
  • Senate Select Committee on Intelligence. [“Review of the Terrorist Attacks on U.S. Facilities in Benghazi, Libya, September 11-12, 2012,” Senate Select Committee on Intelligence, 1/15/14]
  • House Committee on Foreign Affairs. [“Benghazi: Where is the State Department Accountability?,” Majority Staff Report – House Foreign Affairs Committee, 2/7/14]
  • House Committee on the Judiciary. [Interim Progress Report on Benghazi Investigation, 4/23/13]
  • House Committee on Armed Services. [“Armed Services Committee slams White House on Benghazi,” USA Today, 2/11/14]
  • House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence. [“Investigative Report on the Terrorist Attacks on U.S. Facilities in Benghazi, Libya, September 11-12, 2012,” House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence, 11/21/14]

HEARINGS

• 33:Number of congressional hearings, public or private, held on the Benghazi tragedy according to publicly available hearing transcripts, congressional reports, and committee websites and fact sheets.

QUESTIONS

• 3,194:Number of questions asked in public hearings held on the Benghazi tragedy. [CTR Analysis, 5/3/16]

WITNESSES

• 252: Approximate number of witness appearances before House and Senate committees and staff for hearings, briefings, and interviews according to available congressional reports, hearing transcripts, declassified briefing transcripts, committee websites, and fact sheets. [CTR Analysis, updated6/8/16]

REPORTS

• 1,982:Number of pages in published reports on the Benghazi attacks and investigations.
• 13:Number of published reports on the Benghazi attacks and subsequent investigations.

Ø  State Department Accountability Review Board’s report. [Accountability Review Board, 39 pages, 12/20/12]

Ø  Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs report, Flashing Red: A Special Report on the Terrorist Attack at Benghazi. [Flashing Red: A Special Report on the Terrorist Attack at Benghazi, 31 pages, 12/30/12]

Ø  House Republicans’ Interim Progress Report for the Members of the House Republican Conference on the Events Surrounding the September 11, 2012 Terrorist Attacks in Benghazi Libya. [House GOP Interim Progress Report, 46 pages, 4/23/13]

Ø  Report of the Independent Panel on Best Practices. [Report of the Independent Panel on Best Practices, 53 pages 8/29/13]

Ø  House Oversight’s Interim Report on the Accountability Review Board. [“Interim Report on the Accountability Review Board,” 99 pages,9/16/13]

Ø  House Oversight Democrat’s Status Update on Investigation of Attacks on U.S. Personnel and Facilities in Benghazi. [“Status Update on Investigation of Attacks on U.S. Personnel and Facilities in Benghazi,” 80 pages, September 2013]

Ø  Senate Select Committee on Intelligence report, Review of the Terrorist Attacks on U.S. Facilities in Benghazi, Libya, September 11-12, 2012. [“Review of the Terrorist Attacks on U.S. Facilities in Benghazi, Libya, September 11-12, 2012,” 85 pages, 1/15/14]

Ø  House Foreign Affairs Majority Staff report, Benghazi: Where is the State Department Accountability? [“Benghazi: Where is the State Department Accountability?,” 28 pages, 2/7/14]

Ø  House Armed Services Committee Majority Interim Report, Benghazi Investigation Update. [“Benghazi Investigation Update,” 31 pages, February 2014]

Ø  House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence, Investigative Report on the Terrorist Attacks on U.S. Facilities in Benghazi, Libya, September 11-12, 2012. [“Investigative Report on the Terrorist Attacks on U.S. Facilities in Benghazi, Libya, September 11-12, 2012,” 277 pages, 11/21/14]

Ø  House Select Committee on Benghazi, Interim Progress Update. [“Interim Progress Update,” 15 pages, 5/8/15]

Ø  House Select Committee on Benghazi Democrats Report, Honoring Courage, Improving Security, and Fighting the Exploitation of a Tragedy. [“Honoring Courage, Improving Security, and Fighting the Exploitation of a Tragedy,” 345 pages, June 2016]

Ø  House Select Committee on Benghazi Republicans Report, Report of the Select Committee on the Events Surrounding the 2012 Terrorist Attack in Benghazi. [“Report of the Select Committee on the Events Surrounding the 2012 Terrorist Attack in Benghazi,” 853 pages, 6/28/16]

STATE DEPARTMENT

• $700 Million: State Department operational funding threatened by Republicans if officials do not give in to the ongoing “sham investigation.” [The Hill, 6/11/15]
• $14 Million: Cost to the State Department of responding to eight congressional investigations into the Benghazi attacks, document production, and witness availability. [Benghazi Committee Democrats press release, “On Three-Year Anniversary of First Republican Benghazi Hearing, State Dept. Reports Spending $14 Million–and Counting,” 10/10/15]

DEFENSE DEPARTMENT

• 50: Approximate number of hearings, briefings, and interviews the Department of Defense has led or participated in during previous Benghazi investigations. [Department of Defense letter to Rep. Adam Smith,3/11/14]
• Thousands: Number of hours spent by Department of Defense in hearings, briefings, and interviews, and other repetitive congressional requests. [Department of Defense letter to Rep. Adam Smith,3/11/14]
• Millions: Cost to the Department of Defense and other agencies responding to previous congressional investigations into the Benghazi attacks. [Department of Defense letter to Rep. Adam Smith,3/11/14]

RECOMMENDATIONS

• 29: Number of recommendations issued by the Accountability Review Board and accepted by the State Department to ensure the security of American diplomats serving abroad. [“Benghazi Accountability Review Board Implementation,” state.gov, 1/15/14]

ACCUSATIONS

• 0: Number of investigations that have found any administration wrongdoing related to the Benghazi tragedy. [NPR, 11/24/14]
• 0: Number of investigations to find evidence of an intelligence failure leading to the Benghazi tragedy. [LA Times, 11/22/14]
• 0: Number of investigations to find evidence of a stand down order. [LA Times, 11/22/14]

BENGHAZI SELECT COMMITTEE BY THE NUMBERS     

• 2016: Year the Select Committee suggested it would release a final report, making it one of the longest congressional investigation in U.S. history, and ensuring the investigation continues well into the presidential campaign cycle. [MSNBC,4/23/15]

BUDGET AND COST

• Unlimited:Budget granted to the Benghazi Select Committee by the Republican controlled House of Representatives. [Letter to Committee on House Administration Chairman and Ranking Member, 2/5/15]
• $1.8 Million:Approximate cost of the Benghazi Select Committee in 2014. [Letter to Committee on House Administration Chairman and Ranking Member, 2/5/15]
• $2.5 Million:Approximate cost of the Benghazi Select Committee in its first 10 months. [“Benghazi Investigation Now Longer than Iran-Contra and other Investigations,” Benghazi Select Committee Democrats press release, 3/23/15]
• $7.1 Million:Approximate cost of the Benghazi Select Committee to date. [Benghazi Investigation: The Cost to the Taxpayers, accessed 6/27/16]
• $8,000:Estimated daily cost of the Benghazi Select Committee investigation at its current rate. [Letter to Committee on House Administration Chairman and Ranking Member, 2/5/15]
• $1.35 Million:Approximate total salary expenditures in 2014 for Benghazi Select Committee staff. [Legistorm, accessed 4/24/15]
• $3.59 Million:Approximate total salary expenditures for Benghazi Select Committee staff. [Legistorm, accessed 3/9/16]
• $128,750:Average salary of House GOP staff on the Benghazi Select Committee. [New York Observer, 6/18/15]
• 46:Number of professional staff members who have worked on the Benghazi Select Committee according to Legistorm. [Legistorm,accessed 3/9/16]
• 5:Number of permanent House committees that have spent less in 2015 than the Select Committee on Benghazi. [Committee Reports from 114^th Congress, Committee on House Administration, accessed 5/4/16]

Committee	2015 Yearly Expenditures
Select Committee on Benghazi	$3,721,871.99
Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence	$3,708,056.39
Committee on Veterans’ Affairs	$3,053,722.40
Committee on Ethics	$2,864,060.04
Committee on Small Business	$2,534,362.59
Committee on Rules	$2,450,303.44

HEARINGS

• 4:Number of public hearings held by the Benghazi Select Committee since its formation in May 2014. [Select Committee on Benghazi, accessed 3/9/16]
• 11: Number of months Secretary Clinton had to wait to testify in an open, public hearing before the Benghazi Committee despite a standing offer from November 2014. [Clinton Attorney Letter to Chairman Gowdy,4/22/15; Select Committee Confirms Date for Appearance by Former Secretary of State Clinton, 6/29/15]

DOCUMENTS

• 100,000+:Approximate number of pages of documents provided by the State Department and other agencies for Select Committee review. [Select Committee Announces Scheduled Testimony of Additional Witnesses, 12/3/15]
• 300:Approximate number of Secretary Clinton’s emails related to Benghazi and provided to the Select Committee in February. [New York Times, 3/3/15]
• 900:Approximate number of pages of Secretary Clinton’s emails provided to the Select Committee in February. [New York Times, 3/3/15]
• 925:Approximate number of Hillary Clinton’s emails provided to the Select Committee in October 2015. A “small number” of these related to Benghazi, while the rest were about Libya more generally or were previously assessed to be personal in nature. [Daily Beast, 9/25/15]
• 0:Number of prior State Department Accountability Review Boards whose investigative files have been produced to Congress. [State Department letter to Chairman Gowdy, 4/15/15] 

WITNESSES

• 107:Approximate number witnesses brought in for interviews with the Select Committee to date. [Benghazi Committee Press Release, updated 6/17/16]
• 8: Number of current or former Clinton campaign staffers interviewed or deposed by the Benghazi Committee. [Benghazi Committee Democrats press release,10/1/15]

SELECT COMMITTEE’S FOCUS ON HILLARY CLINTON’S EMAIL

• 11:Number of planned hearings abandoned by Trey Gowdy and the Republicans on the Select Committee in order to focus on Hillary Clinton and Hillary Clinton’s email. [Republicans Abandon Plan for Benghazi Hearings to Focus on Clinton, 7/15/15]
• 136:Number of written questions posed by Benghazi Select Committee Chairman Trey Gowdy in a letter to Secretary Clinton’s attorney. [Chairman Gowdy letter to Clinton attorney, 4/23/15]
• 8:Number of questions, out of 136 posed by the Select Committee in a letter to Secretary Clinton, directly related to the tragedy in Benghazi. [Washington Post, 4/23/15]