Washington, DC – In the days before Hillary Clinton’s appearance before the Benghazi Committee, Correct The Record would like to remind the public that the Committee’s investigation is nothing more than a political witchhunt designed to hurt Hillary Clinton’s presidential campaign, as admitted by Reps. McCarthy and Hanna. They aren’t the only ones. Each of the Republicans on the Benghazi Committee has used their position to push the GOP agenda of damaging Hillary Clinton. No one is more guilty of this than Chairman Trey Gowdy.
Trey Gowdy Is Politicizing Benghazi
PUSHED GOP CONSPIRACIES ABOUT BENGHAZI
Gowdy Said Administration Was Hiding Facts on Benghazi
Trey Gowdy accused the administration from “trying to keep you from finding out what happened.” “So Benghazi kinda undercuts that,’ Gowdy said, ‘And then you throw in the fact that your government, in an orchestrated fashion, is trying to keep you from finding out what happened, it makes for a great, you would think, media story. … I mean it’s been what over eight months, and finally you mentioned ABC, The New York Times figured out how to spell Benghazi. That’s great.” [Daily Caller, 5/22/13]
Trey Gowdy: There is no question “that there was a concerted effort shortly after Benghazi to protect the President’s re-election bid, and right now there’s a concerted effort to insulate and protect Secretary Clinton.” “GOWDY: Oh, there is no question. Anyone sitting in that committee room today would draw that same conclusion, that there was a concerted effort shortly after Benghazi to protect the President’s re-election bid, and right now there’s a concerted effort to insulate and protect Secretary Clinton. For once, Congress did its job today. It’s our job to provide oversight. There’s no statute of limitations when it comes to the truth, and the least we can do for our four murdered fellow Americans who were serving on our steed under our flag is to find out exactly what happened. And we took a big step today. But, Sean, today is just one step. We need to have more hearings with more firsthand eyewitness accounts.” [Fox News’ Hannity, 5/8/13]
Gowdy Accused Administration of Manipulating Talking Points to Protect Administration
Trey Gowdy: “Every change that Mike Morell made to the talking points sanitized or immunized the administration from criticism.” “Well, the memo [by Ben Rhodes], I think, is evidence of a cover-up. But Joe, you also have to keep in mind, every change that Mike Morell made to the talking points sanitized or immunized the administration from criticism. I mean, initially the first talking points were critical of the State Department for missing every sign and signal in Libya of escalating violence. He took all of that out of the talking points. He’s the one who inserted ‘spontaneous reaction’ or a protest, despite the fact that the station chief and Greg Hooks (sic) — Greg Hicks — says that’s not true.” [MSNBC’s Morning Joe, 5/7/14]
GOWDY REFERRED TO THE SELECT COMMITTEE AS “A TRIAL”
Trey Gowdy said if the “administration is slow-walking document production, I can’t end a trial simply because the defense won’t cooperate.” MR. SCARBOROUGH: “Hey, Trey, one final question. Yesterday some people were bringing up around the set concerns that you could have a committee that could have one subpoena after another subpoena going out all the way through 2016, going after Hillary Clinton, going into the election campaign. Do you think there should be a limit on how long the subpoena power should be for the committee, a limit to the scope, so people don’t say, hey, you Republicans, you’re just doing this to go after Hillary?” REP. GOWDY: “Well, part of the answer to that depends upon how compliant the administration is with our subpoena. It would be shame on us if we intentionally drug this out for political expediency. On the other hand, if an administration is slow-walking document production, I can’t end a trial simply because the defense won’t cooperate.” [MSNBC’s Morning Joe, 5/7/14]
GOWDY SAID HE COULD HOLD BENGHAZI HEARINGS “UNTIL THE LORD COMES BACK”
Trey Gowdy said he was willing to hold committee hearings on Benghazi “until the Lord comes back.” The following exchange took place on Fox Business: DOBBS: “The idea that the — that these gentlemen sitting there as the leaders of our intelligence community would not be willing to put forward a transparent, direct and candid statement to those committees — that’s deeply troubling, isn’t it?” GOWDY: “It is when you — when you live in an open, free society and an administration claims to be the most transparent since the earth cooled. We’re going to find out, Lou, what happened in Benghazi with or without the voluntary help of the people who have knowledge. We’re going to find out, and we’ll have committee hearings until the Lord comes back, if that’s what it takes!” [Fox Business, 11/15/12]
Trey Gowdy: “I’m ready to send depositions to Hillary Clinton, Susan Rice, Cheryl Mills and Patrick Kennedy.” VAN SUSTEREN: “It’s extraordinary. Are we going to get some hearings on this or anything coming up? We only have 20 seconds left but what’s next.” GOWDY: “Yes, ma’am. We are doing depositions which regrettably your viewers don’t have the benefit of it. I’m ready to send depositions to Hillary Clinton, Susan Rice, Cheryl Mills and Patrick Kennedy. I’m ready to take their depositions and ready to send interrogatories to the president. Some of my colleagues are about their wit’s end when it comes to this Benghazi investigation.” [Fox News, 1/10/14; Video]
GOWDY SUPPORTED BLOCKING NOMINEES OVER BENGHAZI WITNESS AVAILABILITY
Trey Gowdy stood with Lindsey Graham in calling for future nominees to be blocked until more witnesses are interviewed in Benghazi investigations. “Graham, R-S.C., first issued his plan Mondaybut the White House appeared unmoved, so he restated it at a Wednesday news conference on Capitol Hill. ‘I will block all future nominees, not because I want to shut anything down, but because I want to open things up,’ Graham said. He was joined by Sens. John McCain of Arizona and Kelly Ayotte of New Hampshire, and Reps. Jim Jordan of Ohio, Jason Chaffetz of Utah and Gowdy, R-Spartanburg.” [The State, 10/30/15]
GOWDY HAS ALREADY PUSHED FAR-FLUNG CONSPIRACY THEORIES
Trey Gowdy argued the administration changed the names of people involved in the Benghazi attacks as part of a cover-up attempt. “Rep. Trey Gowdy (R-S.C.) is accusing the Obama administration of a massive cover-up in the deadly Benghazi, Libya, terrorist attack, saying it was ‘dispersing’ witnesses around the country and changing their names in an effort to hide the truth about what happened. In an interview Thursday with Fox News host Greta Van Susteren, Gowdy said the administration is ‘changing names, creating aliases’ of U.S. agents who were in Benghazi on the night of the Sept. 11, 2012, attacks. ‘Stop and think what things are most calculated to get at the truth? Talk to people with first-hand knowledge. What creates the appearance or perhaps the reality of a cover-up? Not letting us talk with people who have the most amount of information, dispersing them around the country and changing their names,’ Gowdy said.” [The Hill, 8/2/13]
Trey Gowdy suggested the Obama 2012 campaign could have been directly manipulating the Internal Revenue Service. The following exchange occurred on Fox News: O’REILLY: “What — what is your opinion on what’s really going on with the IRS? I mean we now know that it’s into the Washington bureaucracy, it’s not a Cincinnati deal. Do you think this was orchestrated by the Democratic Party or the White House?” GOWDY: “Well, I don’t have any evidence to support that, but I can tell you this. One place we ought to be looking is the — is the Obama/Biden re- elect. Not just the White House but their re-election team. I like to deal in evidence. I can’t prove to you that it goes to the White House. I can tell you this — I don’t think two rogue agents in Cincinnati concocted this scheme on their own.” [Fox News, 6/18/13]
Trey Gowdy openly questioned whether President Obama would circumvent election laws. “A dismayed U.S. Rep. Trey Gowdy, R-S.C., wondered what the limits to executive power are given many of the actions that President Barack Obama has taken with respect to immigration and the Affordable Care Act. At a House Judiciary Committee hearing Tuesday, Gowdy questioned a panel of legal experts on ‘The President’s Constitutional Duty to Faithfully Execute the Laws,’ according to HotAir. ‘If the president can fail to enforce immigration laws, can the president likewise fail to enforce election laws?’ Gowdy asked Simon Lazarus, senior counsel to the Constitutional Accountability Center.” [BizPac Review, 12/5/13]
Trey Gowdy suggested President Obama tricked women into supporting him with the contraceptive mandate. “The question of whether corporations are people with religious beliefs, capable of theological objections to contraception access, won’t appear before the Supreme Court until the spring, with a ruling likely in the summer. But in the meantime, the rhetoric surrounding the issue is going to be amazing. Speaking out against the contraceptive mandate, South Carolina Rep. Trey Gowdy accused the president of winning the election by misleading women voters. ‘The president knows he is not going to win this case. But what he did win was an election. He won election in part by deceiving women and the so-called war on women,’ Gowdy said Wednesday on Fox News’s ‘On the Record.’ ‘He knows he is not going to win this in Supreme Court, but he won in 2012. That was his real objective.’ Even for House Republicans, this is a doozy. According to Gowdy, President Obama included contraception access as part of preventive care under federal law, but it was really just an elaborate ruse.” [MSNBC, 12/2/13]
GOWDY INVOLVED IN FUNDRAISING OFF OF BENGHAZI
Trey Gowdy Accepted Campaign Contributions from GOP Presidential Candidates Benefiting from His Actions
Jeb Bush donated to Trey Gowdy’s congressional campaign. “WASHNGTON Jeb Bush isn’t just visiting states, attending fundraisers and delivering grand policy speeches — he’s handing out money with a clear strategy in mind. In another sign the former Florida governor plans to announce his candidacy for the White House soon, his Right to Rise PAC has donated nearly $123,000 this month to key Republican players in early primary states, including Iowa, New Hampshire and South Carolina. […] In South Carolina, Bush gave to both Scott and Rep. Trey Gowdy who will team up to host likely GOP presidential candidates in a series of town halls around the state this year. The joint events make Scott and Gowdy — who are close personal friends and politically aligned — key voices in the nation’s first Southern primary.” [Gannett News Service, 2/19/15]
- Right To Rise PAC donated $5,200 to Trey Gowdy on February 20, 2015. [Trey Gowdy For Congress, 2015 Q1 Report]
Donald Trump donated $2,000 to Trey Gowdy on October 13, 2014. [Trey Gowdy For Congress, 2014, Pre-General Report]
Trey Gowdy Was a Hot Ticket on the Fundraising Circuit
Trey Gowdy was a special guest at a fundraiser for Congressman and Benghazi Committee member Peter Roskam. “Please join Congressman Peter Roskam with Special Guest Congressman Trey Gowdy Congressman Trey Gowdy of South Carolina serves on the House Committees on Government Reform & Oversight, Ethics and Judiciary. Prior to serving in Congress he was an experienced federal prosecutor. He brings those courtroom skills to his investigative and oversight work in the House of Representatives. Friday, September 25th.” [Cook County Republican Party, 9/15/15]
Trey Gowdy was listed as “Chairman of the House Select Committee on Benghazi” announcing his appearance as the Keynote Speaker for the Volusia County Republican Party Lincoln Day Dinner. “You are Invited! Volusia County Republican Party 2015 Lincoln Day Dinner. Sunday November 8, 2015. Ocean Center. We are honored to announce Keynote Speaker ‘The Bulldog’ Congressman Trey Gowdy (S.C) Chairman, House Select Committee on Benghazi.” [First Coast Tea Party, accessed 9/21/15]
Trey Gowdy was scheduled to be the Special Guest at a $2,000-per-couple fundraiser for Marco Rubio. “Marco Rubio brings his vision of a ‘New American Century’ to Texas next week with a high-profile fundraiser reception in the exclusive Dallas suburb of Highland Park. Real-estate investor Harlan Crow and his wife Kathy will present the $2,000-per-couple event, scheduled for Tuesday, September 22. Host reception begins at 6:30 p.m.; general reception is at 7 p.m…South Carolina Congressman Trey Gowdy, the outspoken conservative who serves on the House Select Committee on Benghazi, is the special guest.” [SaintPetersBlog, 9/12/15; Event Invitation, accessed 9/21/15]
- Trey Gowdy was listed as “Chairman Trey Gowdy” on the invitation to a fundraiser for Marco Rubio. [Florida Politics, 9/21/15]
- Trey Gowdy “backed out of the gig at the last minute.” “Unfortunately for Rubio and the Harlans, the ‘special guest,’ chair of the House Select Committee on Benghazi, South Carolina Rep. Trey Gowdy, seems to have backed out of the gig at the last minute.” [Salon, 9/22/15]
Committee Chairman Trey Gowdy planned to appear at a Virginia GOP fundraiser titled “Beyond Benghazi.” “Gowdy is scheduled to be the featured guest at a fundraising event March 19 for the Republican Party of Virginia, entitled, ‘Beyond Benghazi,’ featuring a screening and an interview of Gowdy, moderated by Rep. Morgan Griffith. The RPV is charging $75 but for $5,000, a donor can be a co-chair.” [National Review, 3/9/15]
- Fundraiser was cancelled after Trey Gowdy pulled out. “In May, just after he was picked to lead the House’s select committee to investigate the 2012 Benghazi attacks, Rep. Trey Gowdy said he would not raise money off of the assault on a U.S. diplomatic mission and CIA annex in Benghazi, Libya, that killed four Americans. But it was revealed Monday that he was scheduled to help another group raise funds at an event called ‘Beyond Benghazi.’ By the day’s end, Gowdy had pulled out and the event was canceled.” [Washington Post, 3/9/15]
GOWDY PARTICIPATED IN TOWN HALLS AUDITIONING PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATES
Tim Scott and Trey Gowdy set to hold Town Hall auditions for Presidential Candidates. “WASHINGTON Sen. Tim Scott and Rep. Trey Gowdy will team up to host likely GOP presidential candidates in a series of town halls around South Carolina this year. The joint events make Scott and Gowdy — who are close personal friends and politically aligned — key voices in the nation’s first Southern primary.” [Gannett News Service, 2/17/15]
Trey Gowdy Set to Co-Host Presidential Town Hall auditions with Tim Scott. “Call it the Tim Scott primary. The 49-year-old senator has quickly emerged as South Carolina’s most popular Republican, making his endorsement perhaps the biggest prize of 2016 in the Palmetto State’s make-or-break presidential primary. […]At town hall meetings in South Carolina’s Upstate region, Rep. Trey Gowdy, R-S.C., will cohost the events.” [Washington Examiner, 2/11/15]
Town Hall with Mike Huckabee
Trey Gowdy and Scott Held initial Town Hall audition with Mike Huckabee. “Tim Scott Launches Town Hall Series with Mike Huckabee and Special Guest Trey Gowdy – http://eepurl.com/bpmKwb #TimsTownHallsHuckabee” [Twitter, 6/4/15]
- Trey Gowdy and Scott hosted Town Hall audition for Mike Huckabee. “.@GovMikeHuckabee takes questions w/ press & voters in #SouthCarolina w/ Rep. Trey Gowdy & Sen. Tim Scott #FITS #gop” [Twitter, 7/6/15]
Town Hall with Bobby Jindal
Trey Gowdy and Scott hosted Town Hall audition for Bobby Jindal. “Requiring healthcare providers to post their prices online would enhance competition and ultimately bring down prices, Republican presidential candidate Bobby Jindal said during a campaign stop in Spartanburg Thursday. […] The town hall was part of an ongoing series with Republican presidential candidates organized by U.S. Sen .Tim Scott of South Carolina, with assistance from U.S. Rep. Trey Gowdy, who represents Greenville/Spartanburg.” [Greenville News, 8/22/15]
Town Hall with Rick Perry
Trey Gowdy and Scott hosted Town Hall audition for Rick Perry. “In SC for #TimsTownHalls. Thanks for all you do for the conservative cause – @votetimscott & @TGowdySC! #Perry2016” [Twitter, 8/27/15]
Town Hall with Marco Rubio
Trey Gowdy and Scott hosted Town Hall audition for Marco Rubio. “Sen. Marco Rubio: The Florida Republican will be in North Charleston on Monday for U.S. Sen. Tim Scott s Town Hall series. Rubio and Scott will be joined by U.S. Rep. Trey Gowdy at the North Charleston Performing Arts Center beginning at 6 p.m.” [Post & Courier, 9/6/15]
- Rubio Later tweeted that he enjoyed sharing the stage with Trey Gowdy and Scott. “Great time in SC sharing the stage w/ my buds Trey Gowdy & @votetimscott! See the pics here: http://on.fb.me/1EONJ9q ” [Twitter, 9/9/15]
Town Hall with Carly Fiorina
Trey Gowdy set to attend Carly Fiorina event on October 2nd. “The Aiken GOP will partner with U.S. Sen. Tim Scott’s town-hall initiative in bringing another Republican presidential candidate to the area to discuss key issues. Politician and businesswoman Carly Fiorina will join the presidential town-hall series during her trip to Aiken on Oct. 2 at the USC Aiken Etherredge Center, 471 University Parkway. The event will begin at noon. […]Also in attendance will be U.S. Rep. Trey Gowdy, another South Carolina Republican.” [Aiken Standard, 8/17/15]
BENGHAZI COMMITTEE HAS BENEFITED TREY GOWDY POLITICALLY
Robert Costa: Trey Gowdy was floated for Majority Leader because of his Benghazi Committee investigation work. “But Gowdy, the former state and federal prosecutor best known for chairing the House Select Committee on Benghazi, moved to tamp down the draft discussion and eventually squelched it entirely — in keeping with previous occasions where he has shied away from any sort of leadership run, even as his national profile has skyrocketed.” [Washington Post, 9/29/15]
Weigel: Trey Gowdy was only floated for Majority Leader because of the Benghazi investigation. “The aftermath of Boehner’s decision to retire has done damage to that argument. Yesterday, Capitol Hill rumbled with talk that Gowdy would run to replace McCarthy as majority leader, a position the third-term congressman would not have been in without the goodwill engendered by the Benghazi investigation.” [Washington Post, 9/30/15]
GOWDY ATTACKED PLANNED PARENTHOOD
Supported Shutting Down Government over Planned Parenthood
Trey Gowdy signed onto a pledge to shutdown the government if Congress failed to defund Planned Parenthood. “A group of 28 House Republican lawmakers, all men, are pledging to do everything in their power to defund Planned Parenthood this fall, even it means shutting down the federal government in protest. In a letter circulated this summer by Rep. Mick Mulvaney (R-S.C.), the congressmen pledged to vote against any bill that funds the federal government if it includes money for Planned Parenthood. Congress must fund the government by Sept. 30 to avoid a shutdown…The 28 Republicans threatening a shutdown are Reps. Mulvaney, Jim Jordan (Ohio), John Fleming (La.), Raúl Labrador (Idaho), Matt Salmon (Ariz.), Tim Huelskamp (Kan.), Jeff Duncan (S.C.), Thomas Massie (Ky.), Trey Gowdy (S.C.), Walter Jones (N.C.), Curt Clawson (Fla.), Jim Bridenstine (Okla.), Keith Rothfus (Pa.), Randy Weber (Texas), Scott Perry (Pa.), Steven Pearce (N.M.), Trent Franks (Ariz.), Louie Gohmert (Texas), Ted Yoho (Fla.), Jody Hice (Ga.), David Rouzer (N.C.), Dave Brat (Va.), Mark Meadows (N.C.), Scott DesJarlais (Tenn.), Mark Walker (N.C.), Brian Babin (Texas), David Schweikert (Ariz.), and Trent Kelly (Miss.).” [Huffington Post, 9/8/15]
Gowdy Accused Planned Parenthood of Selling Fetal Body Parts
Trey Gowdy: “I’m not going to give taxpayer money to an entity that discusses the best way to sell body parts.” “‘The people I work for do not want to fund that,’ he said. ‘People can disagree about a woman’s right to choose and Roe vs. Wade, but this is barbaric, depraved.’ Gowdy was referring to four videos recently released by the Center for Medical Progress that showed Planned Parenthood officials callously discussing the sale of fetal body parts. ‘I’m not going to give taxpayer money to an entity that discusses the best way to sell body parts and whether or not you can perform procedures after a delivery and sell those parts in interstate commerce,’ Gowdy added. ‘I’m not going to fund it.’” [Conservative Tribune, 8/3/15]
Accusations Hurled at Planned Parenthood President
Trey Gowdy harshly interrogated Planned Parenthood President Cecile Richards, accusing her of “eating dinner salads and drinking wine” while “discussing infanticide.” “At one point, Richards told Gowdy that Planned Parenthood would like to make campaign contributions to Republicans, but: ‘We don’t think women’s rights should be a partisan issue.’ Gowdy was ready: ‘And we don’t think eating dinner salads and drinking wine while you’re discussing infanticide – we have a problem with that, too. So I’m sure you can understand why we would be as viscerally opposed to what we saw on some of the tapes.’” [IJ Review, 10/4/15]
Trey Gowdy accused Planned Parenthood President Cecile Richards of saying anti-abortion advocates “are not reasonable.” “‘I appreciate that people have a lot of different views on the issue of abortion,’ Richards said. ‘We take the position that we trust women to make decisions about their pregnancies.’ Gowdy responded, ‘I appreciate the way you like to frame the issue, that you are the reasonable one and those of us who have a contrary position are not reasonable.’ ‘I didn’t say that,’ Richards claimed. ‘No, that’s exactly the last answer you gave,’ Gowdy shot back. When the Planned Parenthood boss again denied using those ‘words,’ Gowdy continued to push back — and he seemingly delivered a wink to make his point. ‘It’s not always what you say, sometimes it’s just what you mean,’ the Republican added.” [The Blaze, 9/30/15]
GOWDY EQUATED AFFORDABLE CARE ACT WITH SEGREGATION
Trey Gowdy said the Affordable Care Act was a bad law, similar to laws in the past that made it unlawful for “Tim Scott and I to sit-down at a restaurant and eat together.” “In the latest instance, Gowdy said House Republicans don’t believe the ACA is a good law and have stood strong on those principles. ‘Some people might say that we should go along with what the President wants, and the Supreme Court ruling, but I would submit that just because it’s law doesn’t make it a good law,’ Gowdy said. ‘There was a time when it would have been unlawful for (Sen.) Tim Scott and I to sit-down at a restaurant and eat together. There are bad laws and those worth staying and fighting for and I happen to think this is one of them.’” [GoUpstate.com, 10/1/13]