It’s clear Rudy Giuliani got the memo for night one of the Republican National Convention: repeat debunked claims about the tragedy in Benghazi for political gains. Giuliani followed the lead of many other speakers with his claim that Hillary Clinton lied about the cause of the attack, and lied to the victims families.
LIE 1: Rudy Giuliani: “Clinton and the Obama administration for political reasons lied about the purpose of the attack.”
LIE 2: “Hillary Clinton lied directly to the families of the people who were killed right to their face.”
THE TRUTH:
Washington Post Fact Checker found “little support” for the claim that “Clinton told the American people the attacks were because of a video.” “Focusing just on the public statements made by Clinton — as opposed to the rest of the administration — one find little support for Rubio’s claim that Clinton told the American people that the attacks were because of a video. She certainly spoke about the video, but always in the context of the protests that were occurring across the Middle East.” [Washington Post, 10/30/15]
Washington Post Fact Checker: Most of the victims’ families say “they do not recall [Hillary Clinton] mentioning a video” in their private conversations. “The Fact Checker took a deep dive into the question of what exactly Clinton had told families of the victims of the Benghazi attacks. We reviewed as many transcripts of interviews as we could find and tracked down as many family members as possible. Clinton says that in speaking with the families, she did not blame the Benghazi attacks on the video. Most participants we interviewed (four out of six) back up her version, saying they do not recall her mentioning a video. We did not offer a rating. Readers will have to come to their own conclusions based on the evidence we assembled.” [Washington Post, 10/21/16]
The majority of families the Washington Post Fact Checker interviewed said Hillary Clinton did not discuss the video during their private meetings. “Clinton says that in speaking with the families, she did not blame the Benghazi attacks on the video. Most participants we interviewed (four out of six) back up her version, saying they do not recall her mentioning a video.” [Washington Post Fact Checker, 1/4/16]