John Tiegen just said that his team in Benghazi was given orders to stand down. It’s a claim that’s been repeatedly debunked by the CIA, the Senate Intelligence Committee and the Republican-led House Intelligence Committee.
LIE: “We got told to stand down.” “September 11, 2012 at about 9:35, 9:40 we got a call that the U.S. consulate had been overrun. We immediately got our gear ready to go, got the vehicles ready. And on three separate occasions we got told to wait by the Chief of Base Bob. And we got told to stand down.”
THE TRUTH: CIA stated that no “stand down” order was given. “In a statement to ABC News, the CIA called the claims in the movie ‘shameful,’ ‘a distortion of events’ and denied that a ‘stand down’ order was given. ‘No one will mistake this movie for a documentary,’ the statement continued. ‘It’s a distortion of the events and people who served in Benghazi that night. It’s shameful that, in order to highlight the heroism of some, those responsible for the movie felt the need to denigrate the courage of other Americans who served in harm’s way.’” [ABC News, 1/16/16]
Republican-led House Intelligence committee that interviewed members of the response team determined that there was no stand-down order given. “‘There are seven reports based off of what happened in Benghazi; I’ve been interviewed for one,’ he said. ‘What kind of credibility is that? How can you get the information without interviewing the guys on the ground?’ That ‘one’ was former House Intelligence Chairman Mike Rogers’ probe. But even his final report on the matter specifically said there was no stand-down order given. That report divided the GOP. And most of Rogers’ GOP panel members — including Benghazi panel member Pompeo — refused to sign the final document because they felt it did not tell the full story.” [Politico, 1/14/16]
Senate Intelligence Committee found “no evidence of intentional delay or obstruction” of movement by the team from the CIA annex. “The bipartisan Senate Intelligence Committee, the most credible official investigation into Benghazi, investigated precisely this issue. It found that, ‘Although some members of the security team expressed frustration that they were unable to respond more quickly to the Mission compound,’ there was ‘no evidence of intentional delay or obstruction by the Chief of Base or any other party.’” [Vox, 1/15/16]