The Benghazi Committee is an all-purpose political harassment operation formed to smear Hillary Clinton. Last year, Trey Gowdy repeatedly claimed he would conduct a non-partisan, objective inquiry that even “the left” would find fair. These days, his selective leaks of misinformation to the media, his repeated attempts to fundraise off the tragedy, and his continued delays and evolving focus of the Committee’s work confirm otherwise.
Don’t believe us – read it yourself in today’s New York Times, which reports as simple fact that the Benghazi Committee is a political operation aimed at Hillary.
Let’s unpack that – the New York Times reports as an indisputable fact that “the work of trying to damage Mrs. Clinton has been essentially outsourced to the congressional committees that have investigated the events leading up to and after the 2012 attacks on the American compound in Benghazi, Libya.”
This is the same New York Times which has essentially served as a tool of said politically-oriented Benghazi Committee. The Times’ public editor admitted today to relying on tips from Capitol Hill to develop its latest discredited story on Hillary Clinton’s emails.
Rep. Adam Schiff, a Democrat on the Benghazi Committee, observed on the focus of Trey Gowdy that “initially it was about whether there was gun-running or whether there were stand-down orders. Now the chairman has pretty much admitted that there is no evidence of that, and the investigation isn’t about those things anymore.”
Trey Gowdy should address the NYT leaks or Schiff’s assertion – but that would require admitting his purposeful spread of misinformation and conceding his singular focus on Hillary Clinton. At the least, to restore a smidge of legitimacy to an investigation gone off the rails, can Gowdy acknowledge his own acceptance of Hillary Clinton’s longstanding offer to testify publicly before the Benghazi Committee?
Trey Gowdy’s Select Committee on Hillary Clinton
Despite his original promise to conduct a fair and legitimate investigation into the events surrounding the 2012 terrorist attack in Benghazi, Chairman Trey Gowdy and his Republican colleagues have used their committee to harass Hillary Clinton at every turn.
Trey Gowdy Repeatedly Promised a Fair Investigation Removed from Politics
Trey Gowdy promised to lead a fair investigation worthy of the sacrifice made by the victims in Benghazi. “‘When all is said and done, Chairman Gowdy intends to lead the committee in a manner that produces a final accounting that is worthy of the sacrifice made by the four brave Americans we lost in Benghazi and worthy of the trust of all our citizens regardless of their political leanings,’ Gowdy’s spokesman, Jamal Ware, told The Huffington Post. ‘He has said repeatedly, to anyone willing to listen, he wants this process to be viewed as fair.’” [Huffington Post, 10/2/14]
Trey Gowdy: “This will not be what people on the left fear it is going to be.” “Despite skepticism in many quarters, Mr. Gowdy promises a process — which began Wednesday when his full committee met for the first time — that will be both plodding and fair. ‘This will not be what people on the left fear it is going to be,’ Mr. Gowdy said over lunch at the Capitol Hill Club, a dining room for Republicans where he has the same dinner — varying species of fish as well as fresh fruit — every night that Congress is in session, most often with his fellow South Carolina Republican, Senator Tim Scott.” [New York Times, 7/9/14]
Trey Gowdy: “I think the worst thing in the world would be for us to find the facts and have nobody believe us because of the manner in which we conducted ourselves.” “The South Carolina Republican said that the most important consideration for him as he works to uncover the truth is the credibility of the committee. ‘Mike, I think the worst thing in the world would be for us to find the facts and have nobody believe us because of the manner in which we conducted ourselves,’ he said.” [Conservative Tribune, 9/23/14]
Trey Gowdy: “There is this notion out there, as some of my colleagues have said, that this will be a circus, a kangaroo court… I don’t want to be part of that.” “Gowdy is keenly sensitive to that criticism. ‘There is this notion out there, as some of my colleagues have said, that this will be a circus, a kangaroo court. No one who values their professional reputation wants to be part of that. I don’t want to be part of that.’ He said he is trying to hire non-partisan investigators with no political agenda and to reach out to the panel’s ranking member, Elijah Cummings, D-Md., to ensure that the minority has a role in the investigation. House Democrats reluctantly agreed to participate in the 12-member investigative panel.” [USA Today, 7/3/14]
Trey Gowdy: “I want to be fair to her.” “Hewitt followed up by directly asking if Clinton would be subpoenaed if she fails to respond. Gowdy said: ‘I hope it does not come to that point, Hugh, but we most assuredly need to talk to her about Benghazi. And again, I want to be fair to her. She’s never indicated that she would not come.’” [“Trey Gowdy on Hillary Clinton: ‘I want To Be Fair To Her,’” I.J. Review, 4/15/15]
Leaked Information Despite Promising a Legitimate Investigation
Trey Gowdy: “Serious investigations do not leak information.” “So while tremendous progress has been made, both in the quantity and quality of transcribed interviews, those interviews must remain private until such time as a final report has been written in fairness to both the conduct of a proper investigation and to all relevant parties. I have made this a fundamental principle for the Committee and its staff because serious investigations do not leak information or make selective releases of information without full and proper context.” [Gowdy’s “Interim Progress Update,” 5/8/15]
Discredited New York Times story is the latest in a series of leaks. “I spoke personally to the State Department Inspector General on Thursday, and he said he never asked the Justice Department to launch a criminal investigation of Secretary Clinton’s email usage. Instead, he told me the Intelligence Community IG notified the Justice Department and Congress that they identified classified information in a few emails that were part of the FOIA review, and that none of those emails had been previously marked as classified. The Benghazi Select Committee has obtained zero evidence that any emails to or from Secretary Clinton were marked as classified at the time they were transmitted, although some have been retroactively classified since then. This is the latest example in a series of inaccurate leaks to generate false front-page headlines—only to be corrected later—and they have absolutely nothing to do with the attacks in Benghazi or protecting our diplomatic corps overseas.” [“Cummings Responds to Inaccurate Leaks to New York Times on Clinton Emails,” 7/24/15]
New York Times admitted to relying on tips from Capitol Hill to develop now-discredited story. “The story developed quickly on Thursday afternoon and evening, after tips from various sources, including on Capitol Hill. The reporters had what Mr. Purdy described as ‘multiple, reliable, highly placed sources,’ including some ‘in law enforcement.’ I think we can safely read that as the Justice Department. The sources said not only was there indeed a referral but also that it was directed at Mrs. Clinton herself, and that it was a criminal referral. And that’s how The Times wrote it initially. ‘We got it wrong because our very good sources had it wrong,’ Mr. Purdy told me. ‘That’s an explanation, not an excuse. We have an obligation to get facts right and we work very hard to do that.’” [NY Times Public Editor’s Journal, 7/27/15]
Washington Post’s EJ Dionne: “These leaks appear to come from the committee.” “MELISSA BLOCK: E J, what’s your take here? E.J. DIONNE: Well, first of all, you see the damage of this leak, leak, leak today when all the attention was on these emails and not the speech she gave about long-term – we need a long-term thinking in capitalism, not just short-term trading. And so she had a whole proposal there earlier this week. She had a proposal on profit sharing. I think what you’re going to see over time is Clinton sort of getting more direct with the Republicans in Congress and saying, look, these leaks appear to come from the committee. And it was a very strange day. It started out as a criminal investigation of Hillary Clinton. Then The New York Times had to change the story – no, it was just a criminal investigation on classification. Now it’s not a criminal investigation at all.” [National Public Radio, 7/24/15]
Salon’s Simon Maloy: If leak “did originate from the Benghazi committee, that wouldn’t be a surprise, given that chairman Trey Gowdy has effectively given his colleagues and staff a green light to leak.” “Obviously we don’t know who those ‘senior government officials’’ are, but there are some reasonable suspects. The Democrats on the House Select Committee on Benghazi seem convinced that their Republican counterparts are to blame. ‘The leak of the Inspector General’s referral, and the mischaracterization that accompanied its leak, demonstrate once again how the Select Committee on Benghazi has lost sight of its mission and become little more than the taxpayer funded effort to attack Secretary Clinton,’ Rep. Adam Schiff said in a statement. (If it did originate from the Benghazi committee, that wouldn’t be a surprise, given that chairman Trey Gowdy has effectively given his colleagues and staff a green light to leak.) Of course, the only way to know for sure would be if the Times were to burn its sources – something it’s unlikely to do, even though it would seem to be justified.” [Salon, 7/27/15]
Trey Gowdy leaked pages of Secretary Clinton’s emails to the press. “Today, Rep. Elijah E. Cummings, Ranking Member of the House Select Committee on Benghazi, issued the following statement in response to a press report that Chairman Gowdy intends to subpoena Sidney Blumenthal, which included selectively leaked pages of Secretary Clinton’s emails.” [“Cummings Statement on Leaked Plan to Issue Unilateral Subpoena,”5/18/15]
Washington Examiner: Benghazi committee “appeared to have leaked several hundred pages of records to the New York Times.” “In November of last year, Clinton gave the State Department 55,000 printed pages of emails she deemed relevant to her work as secretary of state and reportedly deleted the rest. Many of those emails have been subjected to review by the Benghazi Committee, which appeared to have leaked several hundred pages of records to the New York Times just hours before the State Department published its first batch of redacted emails.” [Washington Examiner, 6/2/15]
Trey Gowdy leaked news of Blumenthal subpoena before it was served. “These latest moves by the Benghazi Committee—issuing a subpoena without first contacting the witness, leaking news of the subpoena before it was served, and not holding any Committee debate or vote—are straight out the partisan playbook of discredited Republican investigations.” [“Cummings Statement on Leaked Plan to Issue Unilateral Subpoena,”5/18/15]
Trey Gowdy leaked news of Hillary Clinton subpoena before informing committee Democrats. “In a letter sent to Chairman Trey Gowdy (R-S.C.) on Friday, the five Democrats on the panel criticized Gowdy for issuing the formal request for documents from Clinton’s term as secretary of state without consulting with Democrats and accused the committee of operating as a campaign arm of the Republican National Committee…. ‘Issuing this subpoena unilaterally with no deliberation by committee members, leaking information about the subpoena before informing Democratic Members, and providing inaccurate information at a press conference all contribute to a perception that this Committee is now targeting Secretary Clinton for political reasons rather than to clarify any remaining facts relating to the attacks in Benghazi,’ the Democrats, led by Rep. Elijah Cummings (D-Md.), wrote.” [Politico, 3/6/15]
Leaked Doctored Emails To Falsely Attack Hillary Clinton
Rep. Cummings: “Someone who was given access to the Select Committee’s documents leaked doctored information to the press in order to make unsubstantiated allegations against Secretary Clinton.” “Documents released recently by the Benghazi Select Committee demonstrate that a Member of the Committee, a staffer on the Committee, or someone who has been given access to the Committee’s documents inaccurately described to the press email exchanges obtained by the Committee in a way that appeared to further a political attack against former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.” [Rep. Cummings letter to Chairman Gowdy, 7/6/15]
The emails were doctored to further the false attack that Hillary Clinton influenced the talking points for political purposes. “First, the source claimed that Secretary Clinton wrote ‘Thanks, I’m pushing to WH’ in response to an email from Mr. Blumenthal on October 10. In fact, she did not make that statement in response to this email. Secretary Clinton was responding to a completely different email more than a week earlier, on October 1. Second, the source claimed that Secretary Clinton was responding to a suggestion from Mr. Blumenthal that Philippe Reines circulate links to four Media Matters articles that refuted the way the ‘right-wing media’ was covering Republican statements about the Benghazi attacks. In fact, Secretary Clinton was responding to an email from Mr. Blumenthal forwarding an article from Salon.com reporting that Republicans were planning to claim inaccurately during the presidential debates that the White House had advance knowledge about the Benghazi attacks and failed to act on it. The article included no reference to Mr. Reines at all.” [Rep. Cummings letter to Chairman Gowdy, 7/6/15]
Despite his promise to run a legitimate investigation, Trey Gowdy refused to investigate the source of the inaccurate, doctored leak. “Today, Select Committee on Benghazi Chairman Trey Gowdy sent a letter to Ranking Member Elijah Cummings responding to a letter Cummings sent this morning warning that someone who was given access to the Select Committee’s documents appears to have leaked doctored, inaccurate information to the press in order to make unsubstantiated allegations against Secretary Clinton. Here are highlights from Chairman Gowdy’s letter: Chairman Gowdy never denies the inaccurate leak occurred. Chairman Gowdy never condemns the leaking of inaccurate information. Chairman Gowdy never says he will investigate who leaked the information. Chairman Gowdy claims Cummings provided no ‘proof of fact’ – even though the American public now has the emails that prove it. Copies of the accurate versions of those publicly released emails are linked here and here. Chairman Gowdy explained in his letter that he intends to ‘remain focused on discharging the mission given to us by the House of Representatives.’” [Gowdy Refuses to Investigate Who on Select Committee Leaked Inaccurate Info to Press, 7/6/15]
Gowdy and the GOP have Fundraised off of Benghazi Investigation
Trey Gowdy: “I have never sought to raise a single penny on the backs of four murdered Americans.” “Appearing on ‘Morning Joe,’ the South Carolina Republican was asked by co-hosts Joe Scarborough and Mika Brzezinski whether he would ask members of the GOP not to ask supporters for campaign cash by appealing to the September 2012 attacks in Benghazi, Libya. ‘Yes, and I will cite myself as an example,’ Gowdy said. ‘I have never sought to raise a single penny on the backs of four murdered Americans.’ Gowdy, in a similar statement to one he made on Fox News on Tuesday, said the Benghazi investigation should remain above the political fray.” [Politico, 5/7/15]
Trey Gowdy raised money off of Benghazi at the National Pachyderm Convention. “U.S. Rep. Chuck Fleischmann, R-Chattanooga, who was elected to the U.S. House in 2010 along with Gowdy and recruited him to come to the two-day Pachyderm convention, called the South Carolina Republican ‘a standout’ who is ‘modest, honest and principled.’ ‘Whether you are Hillary Clinton or any other lefty out there, you better beware because Trey Gowdy is out there and he is going to get you,’ Fleischmann told the GOP gathering. In turn, Gowdy praised Fleischmann, who serves on the Appropriations Committee that he said helped the Benghazi probe by threatening to withhold State Department funding if the agency didn’t comply with the committee’s subpoenas. ‘If you want to provide oversight and get the attention of the executive branch, step on the air hose called appropriations,’ Gowdy said. ‘We tried public shame, threats, subpoenas and letters, but they didn’t work. What worked is when we partnered with our friends on Appropriations and let the State Department and other agencies know that your money will be cut if you do not provide us with documents.’” [Chattanooga Times Free Press, 6/7/15]
Trey Gowdy used Benghazi to raise money at a barbecue fundraiser for Rep. Mick Mulvaney. “Gowdy addressed the issue of ‘phony scandals,’ in which the government is describing the scandals surrounding the IRS and NSA as fake, or phony. Referring to the scandal surrounding the murders of four American citizens in the Benghazi attacks, Gowdy said this is not the case. ‘It is a scandal,’ he said. ‘But it is not a phony scandal.’ Gowdy said these scandals begin to chip away at the public’s trust in their government. ‘There is nothing phony about (citizens) not trusting the people they put in positions of leadership,’ he said. Gowdy urged readers to hold their representatives accountable.” [“Campaign barbecue fundraiser held at city of light; Mulvaney, Gowdy discuss issues,” Lancaster News, 9/1/13]
Trey Gowdy was slated 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]
Stop Hillary PAC
An advertisement from Stop Hillary PAC used Trey Gowdy’s picture and name to encouraged backers sign a pledge supporting the Select Committee. “Support Trey Gowdy & Continue the Select Committee on Benghazi. I support and uphold the Benghazi Select Committee Chairman, Congressman Trey Gowdy, in his pursuit of the truth and justice for all those involved.” [Stop Hillary PAC advertisement, stophillarypac.org, accessed 4/30/15]
- Stop Hillary PAC: ‘Stop Hillary PAC was created for one reason only — to save America from the destructive far-left, liberal cancer created by Bill and Hillary Clinton that’s trying to corrupt America.’“Make sure Hillary Clinton never becomes president! America can’t survive another term of Obama-era radical liberalist policies implemented by a Bill and Hillary Clinton team back in the White House. In 2016, it will be too late to stop Hillary. We’ve got to hold her accountable right now. Stop Hillary PAC was created for one reason only — to save America from the destructive far-left, liberal cancer created by Bill and Hillary Clinton that’s trying to corrupt America. Stand with Stop Hillary PAC today to take a stand for America’s future and STOP Hillary dead in her tracks.” [stophillarypac.org, accessed 4/30/15]
Repeatedly Delayed Investigation to Coincide with 2016
Gowdy said the Benghazi investigation should be completed by 2015. “The attack on the compound in Benghazi, which took the life of a United States ambassador, J. Christopher Stevens, has outraged the Republican Party’s most conservative voters. But Mr. Gowdy’s methodical, under-the-radar approach has offered up little for partisans to seize upon, at least for now. He said the investigation should be complete by the end of 2015, ‘assuming cooperation from agencies, witnesses and the administration.’ Mr. Gowdy added, ‘I say ‘should’ because we cannot predict what witnesses will say, what documents may be produced, and whether either will lead to additional lines of appropriate inquiry.’ He added, ‘Just as I did not sign up for nor have any interest in a political investigation, likewise I have no interest in half measures, partial productions or a lack of access to witnesses with relevant information.’” [New York Times, 9/28/14]
The Select Committee abandoned plans to hold 11 specific hearings in 2015, instead focusing attacks on Hillary Clinton. “At the beginning of this year, Select Committee Republicans provided Democrats with detailed information about their plans to hold 11 hearings between January and October on a wide range of topics relating to the Benghazi attacks. Since then, however, Republicans have completely abandoned this plan—holding no hearings at all since January and instead focusing on former Secretary Hillary Clinton. Amazingly, the last eight press releases on the Select Committee’s webpage deal entirely with Secretary Clinton.” [Republicans Abandon Plan for Benghazi Hearings to Focus on Clinton, 7/15/15]
Republicans on the Select Committee disputed reports that Hillary Clinton was set to appear at a hearing onOctober 22, causing doubt that her testimony would take place. “Clinton was invited to appear before the committee investigating the Sept. 11, 2012 terrorist attack earlier this week, and the former secretary of state and 2016 presidential candidate accepted that invitation on Friday, campaign spokesman Nick Merrill said. Merrill said Clinton was ‘pleased’ to receive the invitation to a public hearing from committee chairman Rep. Trey Gowdy. A Democratic Benghazi Committee spokesperson told CNN that Gowdy offered several dates in October. But Jamal Ware, the select committee’s communications director, disputed that a date had been set, saying that Clinton’s lawyer, David Kendall, was insisting that the scope of the questioning be limited to the Benghazi attack — and not other subjects, such as Libya and her use of a private email server, as Ware claims Kendall had previously agreed to — and that the hearing date would not change.” [CNN, 7/25/15]
Trey Gowdy indefinitely delayed Hillary Clinton’s planned May 2015 testimony. “The chairman of the House Select Committee on Benghazi says Hillary Clinton’s testimony will be delayed until the panel gets all relevant documents from the State Department. ‘Simply put, the Committee must have the records of communication requested more than six months ago before the secretary’s appearance can be scheduled,’ Rep. Trey Gowdy (R-S.C.) wrote Thursday in a letter to Secretary of State John Kerry… ‘The Committee has had Secretary Clinton’s emails for months,’ he added, referencing 300 messages from Clinton’s server that Gowdy said are relevant to the investigation. ‘This new claim that the Department has not produced a single responsive document is completely baseless and appears to be yet another excuse to drag out Secretary Clinton’s testimony until closer to the election,’ said Cummings.” [The Hill, 5/14/15]
Trey Gowdy attempted to drag Hillary Clinton before the committee for two separate hearings. “Clinton agreed to testify before the committee in May. Gowdy, however, rejected that offer and asked the secretary to appear twice — once on her exclusive use of a private email server while at State and another in regard to the Benghazi attack. Kendall, who has spearheaded Clinton’s communication with the committee, said the former first lady would only testify once on both topics and offered to do it during the week of May 18 or later. The date came and went, however, with no testimony.” [CNN, 7/25/15]
Trey Gowdy’s spokesperson promised that the Benghazi investigation would stretch into the months just before the 2016 election. “The findings of a Republican-led committee investigating Hillary Clinton’s response to the deadly 2012 attack in Benghazi, Libya, likely will not be released until next year, just months before the 2016 presidential election. Representative Trey Gowdy of South Carolina, chairman of the U.S. House Select Committee on Benghazi, has been emphasizing a desire for the panel to finish investigative work by the end of 2015, including its review of Clinton’s e-mail practices as secretary of state. Now that seems less likely. In a statement on Tuesday to Bloomberg News, committee spokesman Jamal Ware confirmed the delay. ‘Factors beyond the committee’s control, including witness availability, compliance with documents requests, the granting of security clearances and accreditations—all of which are controlled by the Executive branch—could continue to impact the timing of the inquiry’s conclusion,’ Ware wrote.” [Bloomberg, 4/22/15]