GOP House Members: Still in the hunt to nail Hillary Clinton
(Guys: Why so glum?)
GOP Still Await Email Server Report
(with their fingers crossed)
Updated Review of Benghazi (from
April 8, 2016 article here):
Introduction: Why post this at this time?
Simple. I keep hearing on most GOP-RW-Fox-Talk Radio and all across
la-la land the GOP effort to give Trump the benefit of the doubt for his
outrageous remarks and insults and downright ugliness to harm anyway possible
Hillary Clinton. They are reaching deep to save him and his ways at her
expense. Let’s start with the GOP investigations of her this way from this fine
article by Steve Benen at MSNBC. I know, I know, as soon as some see MSNBC they
won’t read any further and that is my point – basically they are firing blanks
hoping to hit the Hillary target and somehow save Trump – talk about the lowest
of the lowest dirty trick – that takes the proverbial cake.
“Remember the House Republicans’ Benghazi Committee?
It was nearly six
months ago that the GOP-led panel held a farcical, 11-hour hearing with Hillary
Clinton, which only reinforced suspicions that the committee served
no legitimate purpose.
“That was October of last year. Believe it or not, the investigation
still exists, and the panel’s Democratic minority issued a statement announcing
the committee’s newest milestone:
“[Thursday of the above date]
marks the 700th day since the authorization of the Select Committee on
Benghazi. During this time, Republicans have discovered no new evidence that
contradicts the key findings of the previous bipartisan and independent
investigations. As House Republicans drag on their taxpayer-funded partisan
attacks on Secretary Clinton closer and closer to the election, their actions
have shockingly become even more partisan, secretive, and dysfunctional,” (
Ranking Member Rep. Elijah Cummings (D-MD).”
“I can appreciate why these totals may seem abstract, but to put this
in context, the 9/11 Commission, investigating every possible angle to the
worst terrorist attack in the history of the country, worked for 604 days and
created a bipartisan report endorsed by each of the commission’s members.
“The Benghazi committee is now on its 701st day, and even some
congressional Republicans have admitted the panel is a partisan
exercise, making it that much more difficult to justify its prolonged existence.
“Rep. Trey Gowdy’s (R-SC) Benghazi panel has also lasted longer than
the investigations into the federal response to Hurricane Katrina, the attack
on Pearl Harbor, the assassination of President Kennedy, the Iran-Contra
scandal, Church Committee, and the Watergate probe.
“What’s more, following up on our previous coverage, the Benghazi
investigation, which has cost American taxpayers over $6.5 million, isn’t
done. There is no end date in mind, and there’s every reason to believe GOP
lawmakers will just keep it going, probably with this year’s presidential
election in mind, though I suppose it’s possible that it will simply continue
forever.
“Just so we’re clear, though I find the Republicans’ Benghazi Committee
ridiculous, I’m not suggesting the deadly terrorist attack in Libya, which left
four Americans dead, is unworthy of investigation. Just the opposite is true –
Congress had a responsibility to determine what happened and take steps to
prevent similar attacks in the future.
“But therein lies the point: seven separate congressional
committees investigated the Benghazi attack before the Select Committee was
even created. This was already one of the most scrutinized events in American
history. Republican lawmakers, however, didn’t quite care for what the evidence
told them, so they effectively concluded, “Maybe an eighth committee
will tell us something the other seven committees didn’t.”
“That, alas, was over 700 days ago. If there’s a coherent defense for
this exercise, I can’t think of it,” (Benen’s
conclusion).
My Input: Reflect
on the Background that GOPers selectively forgot or failed to remember or seldom
if ever mentioned (at least public):
- Democrats enacted $1.803 billion for embassy security, construction and maintenance for fiscal 2010, when they still controlled the Senate and House.
- After Republicans took control of the House and picked up six Senate seats, Congress reduced the enacted budget to $1.616 billion in fiscal 2011, and to $1.537 billion for 2012.
- The administration requested $1.801 billion for security, construction and maintenance for fiscal 2012; House Republicans countered with a proposal to cut spending to $1.425 billion.
- The House only agreed to increase it to $1.537 billion after negotiations with the Senate.
- The administration requested $1.654 billion for the State Department’s Worldwide Security Protection program for fiscal 2012. House Republicans proposed funding the program at $1.557 billion.
- Congress eventually enacted $1.591 billion after the Senate weighed in.
- For fiscal 2013, the administration requested $2.15 billion in funding for the worldwide security protection program, a larger increase from the previous year. The House countered with a proposal to increase the program to $1.934 billion.
From that Report, in part:
“Appropriate U.S. personnel made reasonable tactical
decisions that night, and the committee found no evidence that there was either
a stand down order or a denial of available air support. ... There was no
intelligence failure prior to the attacks. ... After the attacks, the early
intelligence assessments and the administration’s initial public narrative on
the causes and motivations for the attacks were not fully accurate.”
This is the most
authoritative report to date, comprising a nearly two-year investigation
involving thousands of pages of intelligence assessments, cables, notes and
emails.
The 36-page report says that “there was no intelligence failure” by
the CIA before the attack. CIA personnel had correctly secured their own
building from attack and saved lives by taking extraordinary risks to aid those
under attack at a nearby U.S. consular annex.
The report said there is no evidence to support
allegations that the administration had ordered the U.S. military to stand down
as the attack occurred. Rather, “U.S.
personnel made reasonable tactical decisions that night,” it says.
The committee, with both
Republican and Democratic members, also found that a mixed group of
individuals, including some linked to al-Qaeda, participated in the attack.
Now there remains yet another
ongoing investigation by the House Select Committee on Benghazi (the Gowdy committee), which says it will
take the Intelligence Committee’s report into account when issuing its findings
at an unspecified date. When it is released, it will mark the seventh report on
the attack. It’s not clear whether a panel formed only six months ago can
uncover more details than already reported on.
Keep
in mind this startling tidbit, as
I finish this post from all places, FOX in October 2015:
HEADLINES: Two Congressmen and Ex-Benghazi
Committee Staffer Admit Partisan Nature of the Committee.
Since September 29, three
credible Republicans have admitted to the partisan nature of the House Select
Committee on Benghazi and its primary goal of tarnishing Hillary Clinton. While
the first admission may have been inadvertent – House Majority Leader Kevin
McCarthy (R-CA) boasted that the committee had achieved its goal of
damaging Clinton's poll numbers during an interview with Fox News about his
candidacy for House Speaker.
Since then former Benghazi
committee staffer Bradley F. Podliska, and a second Republican congressman,
Rep. Richard Hanna (R-NY), have come forward and admitted the
committee was "designed to go after" Clinton. [Media
Matters reports: 9/29/15; 10/11/15, 10/14/15]
Bill O'Reilly, during his October
8, 2015 edition of Fox News' The Five, defended the committee's existence
but admitted that “of course it's political,” noting, “If you think those guys,
those Republicans on that panel, don't want to bring down Hillary Clinton,
you're six-years-old. Because they do.” [Fox News, The Five, 10/8/15]
So, get ready for more nasty
and ugliness between now and November 8th I mean be prepared for Hillary’s
email server final report.
Here is an
update here – it’s a decent read. Meanwhile the GOP keeps on wishin’
and hopin’ to nail Hillary Clinton for good as they skate into the White House
and take full power.
Thanks for stopping by.
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