[Congressional Record Volume 158, Number 145 (Wednesday, November 14, 2012)]
[Senate]
[Pages S6801-S6805]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
SENATE RESOLUTION 594--ESTABLISHING A SELECT COMMITTEE OF THE SENATE TO
MAKE THOROUGH AND COMPLETE INVESTIGATION OF THE FACTS AND CIRCUMSTANCES
SURROUNDING, AND THE RESPONSE OF THE UNITED STATES GOVERNMENT TO, THE
SEPTEMBER 11, 2012, TERRORIST ATTACKS AGAINST THE UNITED STATES
CONSULATE AND PERSONNEL IN BENGHAZI, LIBYA, AND TO MAKE RECOMMENDATIONS
TO PREVENT SIMILAR ATTACKS IN THE FUTURE
Mr. McCAIN (for himself, Mr. Graham, and Ms. Ayotte) submitted the
following resolution; which was referred to the Committee on Rules and
Administration:
[[Page S6802]]
S. Res. 594
Whereas, on September 11, 2012, Glen A. Doherty, Tyrone S.
Woods, Sean P. Smith, and Ambassador J. Christopher Stevens
were murdered during a sophisticated assault on the United
States Consulate in Benghazi, Libya, conducted by a group of
militants affiliated with al-Qaeda;
Whereas this tragedy has raised many important questions
that affect the national security of the United States and
the safety of Americans who serve our country abroad;
Whereas Congress has an unique and essential responsibility
under the Constitution to conduct oversight of the Executive
Branch;
Whereas more than two months have passed since the tragic
deaths of these four Americans in Benghazi, and many
essential questions remain unanswered;
Whereas Members of Congress have sent numerous letters to
senior Executive Branch officials requesting information on
the events of September 11, 2012, most of which have not been
answered;
Whereas the Executive Branch has not been forthcoming in
providing answers to the many questions that have emerged
regarding those events;
Whereas the failures that led to the deaths of four
Americans traverse multiple Executive Branch agencies and
come under the jurisdiction of a number of Senate committees,
including the Committee on Armed Services, the Committee on
Foreign Relations, the Committee on Homeland Security and
Governmental Affairs, the Committee on the Judiciary, and the
Select Committee on Intelligence;
Whereas several different committees of jurisdiction in
both the Senate and the House of Representatives are
currently holding briefings and hearings to analyze narrow
aspects of the overall failure in Benghazi before, during,
and after the attacks;
Whereas the death of four Americans in Benghazi was the
result of a whole-of-government failure, and any solution to
prevent such events from happening again will need to be
holistic and comprehensive, cutting across agency
jurisdictions and jurisdictions of committees of Congress;
Whereas a full and independent accounting of the failures
in Benghazi and the development of a comprehensive solution
to prevent such tragedies in the future require the
establishment of a temporary Select Committee in the Senate;
Whereas many other important investigations have been
conducted in the past through the creation of a select
committee of the Senate for a specific purpose and a set
time; and
Whereas the American people deserve straight answers to the
many questions that have been raised about the terrorist
attacks in Benghazi and what actions should be taken to
prevent similar attacks in the future: Now, therefore, be it
Resolved, That
SECTION 1. SELECT COMMITTEE ON INVESTIGATION OF THE SEPTEMBER
11, 2012, TERRORIST ATTACKS IN BENGHAZI, LIBYA.
There is established a select committee of the Senate to be
known as the Select Committee on Investigation of the
September 11, 2012, Terrorist Attacks in Benghazi, Libya (in
this resolution referred to as the ``Select Committee'').
SEC. 2. PURPOSE AND DUTIES.
(a) Purpose.--The purpose of the Select Committee is to--
(1) investigate the facts and circumstances surrounding the
September 11, 2012, terrorist attacks on the United States
consulate and personnel in Benghazi, Libya;
(2) investigate the response of the United States
Government to those attacks; and
(3) make recommendations to guide executive and legislative
changes to policy in light of such investigations.
(b) Duties.--The Select Committee is authorized and
directed to do everything necessary or appropriate to conduct
the investigations specified in subsection (a). Without
restricting in any way the authority conferred on the Select
Committee by the preceding sentence, the Senate further
expressly authorizes and directs the Select Committee to
investigate the facts and circumstances surrounding the
September 11, 2012, terrorist attacks on the United States
consulate and personnel in Benghazi, Libya, and report on
such investigation, regarding the following matters,
including, where applicable, the adequacy of such matters:
(1) The intelligence assessments and other threat reporting
that preceded the attacks.
(2) The security measures and manpower decisions taken to
protect United States personnel in Benghazi before the
attacks.
(3) The United States military force posture in the region
at the time of the attacks and the resulting ability of the
United States Armed Forces to respond in the event of such
attacks.
(4) United States intelligence assets available in the
region at the time of the attacks and their ability to
respond or assist the United States consulate and personnel
in the event of such attacks.
(5) The response of United States Government officials once
the attacks began.
(6) The public characterization by the Executive Branch of
the attacks in the days and weeks that followed the attacks.
(7) United States intelligence and intelligence-sharing
during the attacks.
(8) Lessons learned from the attacks.
(9) Actions to prevent a recurrence of such attacks.
SEC. 3. COMPOSITION OF SELECT COMMITTEE.
(a) Membership.--
(1) In general.--The Select Committee shall consist of
eight members of the Senate of whom--
(A) four members shall be appointed by the majority leader
of the Senate; and
(B) four members shall be appointed by the minority leader
of the Senate.
(2) Date.--The appointments of the members of the Select
Committee shall be made not later than 30 days after the date
of the adoption of this resolution.
(b) Vacancies.--Any vacancy in the Select Committee shall
not affect its powers, but shall be filled in the same manner
as the original appointment.
(c) Service.--Service of a Senator as a member, Chair, or
Vice Chair of the Select Committee shall not be taken into
account for the purposes of paragraph (4) of rule XXV of the
Standing Rules of the Senate.
(d) Chair and Vice Chair.--The Chair of the Select
Committee shall be designated by the majority leader of the
Senate, and the Vice Chair of the Select Committee shall be
designated by the minority leader of the Senate.
(e) Quorum.--
(1) Reports and recommendations.--A majority of the members
of the Select Committee shall constitute a quorum for the
purpose of reporting a matter or recommendation to the
Senate.
(2) Testimony.--One member of the Select Committee shall
constitute a quorum for the purpose of taking testimony.
(3) Other business.--A majority of the members of the
Select Committee, or 1/3 of the members of the Select
Committee if at least one member of the minority party is
present, shall constitute a quorum for the purpose of
conducting any other business of the Select Committee.
SEC. 4. RULES AND PROCEDURES.
(a) Governance Under Standing Rules of Senate.--Except as
otherwise specifically provided in this resolution, the
investigation and hearings conducted by the Select Committee
shall be governed by the Standing Rules of the Senate.
(b) Additional Rules and Procedures.--The Select Committee
may adopt additional rules or procedures if the Chair and the
Vice Chair of the Select Committee agree, or if the Select
Committee by majority vote so decides, that such additional
rules or procedures are necessary or advisable to enable the
Select Committee to conduct the investigation and hearings
authorized by this resolution. Any such additional rules and
procedures--
(1) shall not be inconsistent with this resolution or the
Standing Rules of the Senate; and
(2) shall become effective upon publication in the
Congressional Record.
SEC. 5. AUTHORITY OF SELECT COMMITTEE.
(a) In General.--The Select Committee may exercise all of
the powers and responsibilities of a committee under rule
XXVI of the Standing Rules of the Senate.
(b) Powers.--The Select Committee or, at its direction, any
subcommittee or member of the Select Committee, may, for the
purpose of carrying out this resolution--
(1) hold hearings;
(2) administer oaths;
(3) sit and act at any time or place during the sessions,
recess, and adjournment periods of the Senate;
(4) authorize and require, by issuance of subpoena or
otherwise, the attendance and testimony of witnesses and the
preservation and production of books, records,
correspondence, memoranda, papers, documents, tapes, and any
other materials in whatever form the Select Committee
considers advisable;
(5) take testimony, orally, by sworn statement, by sworn
written interrogatory, or by deposition, and authorize staff
members to do the same; and
(6) issue letters rogatory and requests, through
appropriate channels, for any other means of international
assistance.
(c) Authorization, Issuance, and Enforcement of
Subpoenas.--
(1) Authorization and issuance.--Subpoenas authorized and
issued under this section--
(A) may be done--
(i) with the joint concurrence of the Chair and the Vice
Chair of the Select Committee; or
(ii) by a majority vote of the Committee;
(B) shall bear the signature of the Chair or the Vice Chair
or the designee of the Chair or the Vice Chair; and
(C) shall be served by any person or class of persons
designated by the Chair or the Vice Chair for that purpose
anywhere within or without the borders of the United States
to the full extent provided by law.
(2) Enforcement.--The Select Committee may make to the
Senate by report or resolution any recommendation, including
a recommendation for criminal or civil enforcement, that the
Select Committee considers appropriate with respect to--
(A) the failure or refusal of any person to appear at a
hearing or deposition or to produce or preserve documents or
materials described in subsection (b)(4) in obedience to a
subpoena or order of the Select Committee;
(B) the failure or refusal of any person to answer
questions truthfully and completely during the person's
appearance as a witness at a hearing or deposition of the
Select Committee; or
[[Page S6803]]
(C) the failure or refusal of any person to comply with any
subpoena or order issued under the authority of subsection
(b).
(d) Avoidance of Duplication.--
(1) In general.--To expedite the investigation, avoid
duplication, and promote efficiency under this resolution,
the Select Committee shall seek to--
(A) confer with other investigations into the matters set
forth in section 2(a); and
(B) access all information and materials acquired or
developed in such other investigations.
(2) Access to information and materials.--The Select
Committee shall have, to the fullest extent permitted by law,
access to any such information or materials obtained by any
other governmental department, agency, or body investigating
the matters set forth in section 2(a).
SEC. 6. REPORTS.
(a) Initial Report.--The Select Committee shall submit to
the Senate a report on the investigation conducted pursuant
to section 2 not later than five months after the appointment
of all of the members of the Select Committee.
(b) Final Report.--The Select Committee shall submit to the
Senate a final report on such investigation not later than 10
months after the appointment of all of the members of the
Select Committee.
(c) Additional Reports.--The Select Committee may submit to
the Senate any additional report or reports that the Select
Committee considers appropriate.
(d) Findings and Recommendations.--The reports under this
section shall include findings and recommendations of the
Select Committee regarding the matters considered under
section 2.
(e) Disposition of Reports.--All reports made by the Select
Committee shall be submitted to the Secretary of the Senate.
All reports made by the Select Committee shall be referred to
the committee or committees that have jurisdiction over the
subject matter of the report.
SEC. 7. ADMINISTRATIVE PROVISIONS.
(a) Staff.--
(1) In general.--The Select Committee may employ in
accordance with paragraph (2) a staff composed of such
clerical, investigatory, legal, technical, and other
personnel as the Select Committee, or the Chair and the Vice
Chair of the Select Committee, considers necessary or
appropriate.
(2) Appointment of staff.--The staff of the Select
Committee shall consist of such personnel as the Chair and
the Vice Chair shall jointly appoint. Such staff may be
removed jointly by the Chair and the Vice Chair, and shall
work under the joint general supervision and direction of the
Chair and the Vice Chair.
(b) Compensation.--The Chair and the Vice Chair of the
Select Committee shall jointly fix the compensation of all
personnel of the staff of the Select Committee.
(c) Reimbursement of Expenses.--The Select Committee may
reimburse the members of its staff for travel, subsistence,
and other necessary expenses incurred by such staff members
in the performance of their functions for the Select
Committee.
(d) Services of Senate Staff.--The Select Committee may
use, with the prior consent of the chair of any other
committee of the Senate or the chair of any subcommittee of
any committee of the Senate, the facilities of any other
committee of the Senate, or the services of any members of
the staff of such committee or subcommittee, whenever the
Select Committee or the Chair or the Vice Chair of the Select
Committee considers that such action is necessary or
appropriate to enable the Select Committee to carry out its
responsibilities, duties, or functions under this resolution.
(e) Detail of Employees.--The Select Committee may use on a
reimbursable basis, with the prior consent of the head of the
department or agency of Government concerned and the approval
of the Committee on Rules and Administration of the Senate,
the services of personnel of such department or agency.
(f) Temporary and Intermittent Services.--The Select
Committee may procure the temporary or intermittent services
of individual consultants, or organizations thereof.
(g) Payment of Expenses.--There shall be paid out of the
applicable accounts of the Senate such sums as may be
necessary for the expenses of the Select Committee. Such
payments shall be made on vouchers signed by the Chair of the
Select Committee and approved in the manner directed by the
Committee on Rules and Administration of the Senate. Amounts
made available under this subsection shall be expended in
accordance with regulations prescribed by the Committee on
Rules and Administration of the Senate.
SEC. 8. EFFECTIVE DATE; TERMINATION.
(a) Effective Date.--This resolution shall take effect on
the date of the adoption of this resolution.
(b) Termination.--The Select Committee shall terminate two
months after the submittal of the report required by section
6(b).
Mr. McCAIN. I thank the Presiding Officer.
This resolution calls for the establishment of a select committee of
the Senate to make a thorough and complete investigation of the facts
and circumstances surrounding the response of the United States
Government to the September 11, 2012, terrorist attacks against the
United States consulate and personnel in Benghazi, Libya, and to make
recommendations to prevent similar attacks in the future. I send the
resolution to the desk in behalf of myself, Senator Graham of South
Carolina, and Senator Ayotte of New Hampshire.
Before I go into the need for this select committee--and there
clearly is a need because there is a huge credibility gap amongst the
American people because of the now going on 8 weeks of contradictory
reports, contradictory statements, beginning with the President of the
United States. The President of the United States, on the day of
September 12, went to the Rose Garden and stated that he opposed
terrorist attacks. Then, that evening, as we found out after the
election via an interview with ``60 Minutes,'' the President stated--
and I will provide the quotes for the record: ``We don't know who was
responsible for these attacks.'' So he went from condemning terrorist
attacks to saying to Mr. Croft of ``60 Minutes'' that he didn't know
who was responsible, and then in the days following, in various venues,
whether they be late night talk shows or the United Nations, the
President went on to allege that this was a hideous video that
triggered a spontaneous demonstration. Not true. Not true. The
President of the United States did not tell the American people the
truth about the attacks that took the lives of four brave Americans and
that went on for 7 hours, for which we were totally unprepared.
Four brave Americans died. It has now been 8 weeks. The American
people have received nothing but contradictory statements from all
levels of our government.
One of the more salient events occurred 5 days after, when clearly it
had been identified as an al-Qaida-affiliated terrorist attack. The
United Nations Ambassador, at the direction of the White House, went on
all the Sunday talk shows to allege that this was a spontaneous
demonstration triggered by a hateful video, as did our Secretary of
State, as did, most regrettably, the President of the United States.
The American people deserve the facts. The American people need to
know why the security at the consulate was so inadequate despite two
previous attacks on that facility, including an assassination attempt
on the British Ambassador. What did the President know, when did he
know it, and what did he do about it? Did the President's national
security staff make him aware of these attacks and, if they did, why
did he not take the lead? What actions, if any, were taken to respond
to a classified cable that was sent from our Embassy in Libya to the
State Department on August 16, weeks before the September 11 attack,
stating there were numerous armed groups in Benghazi that posed a
threat to American interests, and that the consulate in Benghazi could
not survive a sustained attack such as the one that eventually occurred
a month later at the hands of one of these militia groups which was al-
Qaida-affiliated? What actions, if any, did the Secretary of State take
in response to these repeated warnings?
I saw Christopher Stevens in Tripoli on July 7. He told me of his
security concerns then. The Senator from South Carolina and others
wrote an article in the Wall Street Journal talking about the need for
security, the problems that the nascent Libyan Government was having.
Obviously, those were ignored.
Why were repeated requests for greater security in Libya turned down
by officials at the State Department? On the anniversary of the worst
terrorist attack in American history and after multiple attacks this
year on our consulate in Benghazi and other western interests there,
why were U.S. Armed Forces in the region not ready--not ready--and
positioned to respond to what was clearly a foreseeable emergency?
The fight went on for 7 hours. Why did senior administration
officials seek to blame a spontaneous demonstration when there was no
spontaneous demonstration, which they were seeing in real-time, which
the surveillance cameras within and without our consulate clearly
indicated? Why is it that anyone, including our Ambassador to the
[[Page S6804]]
United Nations, would believe that spontaneous demonstrations are
composed of people with mortars, with rocket-propelled grenades and
heavy weapons? No one believes that. Why did President Obama insist
that he labeled events in Benghazi an act of terrorism on September 12
when we know now--I repeat, we know now--that in an interview with ``60
Minutes'' on the same day he explicitly refused to characterize the
attack in this way and he then spent nearly 2 weeks putting the
emphasis on a spontaneous protest to a hateful video, including in his
address to the United Nations on September 25?
We need a select committee. Americans deserve to know. The families
of those slain and murdered Americans need to know. And why in the
world the administration or our friends on the other side of the aisle
or anyone would resist the appointment of a select committee I do not
know. We have to have a select committee. The people of the United
States deserve it and the families of those murdered deserve it. They
deserve answers. For 8 weeks now, they have not gotten the answers. The
only credible way of getting those answers is with a select committee.
Today I understand that the President of the United States took some
umbrage at statements Senator Ayotte, Senator Graham, and I have made
concerning this issue. We believe whoever it is must be held
responsible, I say to the President of the United States. Most
importantly, the President of the United States, who is Commander in
Chief, who so far, in my view, has not exercised those responsibilities
and has not informed the American people of the facts--this President
and this administration have either been guilty of colossal
incompetence or engaged in a coverup, neither of which is acceptable to
the American people.
If it appears that I feel strongly about this issue, I speak with the
families, I believe, of those who were murdered. I speak as a friend of
Christopher Stevens. I speak as a person who knows something about
warfare. I speak with some authority that this attack clearly could
have been prevented if the facts on the ground had been taken into
consideration, including the ample warnings--including the warnings
that were sent on August 16--stating that the consulate could not
successfully resist a concentrated attack by al-Qaida-affiliated
groups. That alone convinces me, and I believe most Americans when they
find out, that the actions to prevent these murders were clearly
insufficient, if not totally incompetent.
I see the Senator from South Carolina is here to join me as well as
the Senator from New Hampshire. I ask unanimous consent to engage in a
colloquy with both the Senator from South Carolina and the Senator from
New Hampshire.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
Mr. GRAHAM. Mr. President, I am very grateful to engage. Here is the
request of the body: Benghazi needs to be investigated. We need to find
out what happened so it never happens again. We have four Americans
killed, the first Ambassador killed in the line of duty in 33 years.
That is worthy of our time. Dianne Feinstein is doing a very good job
with Saxby Chambliss on the intel side. General Petraeus must testify.
I think Secretary Clinton must testify.
Here is the problem that I have with the approach we are taking.
Armed services need to ask DOD: How could you not come to the aid of
the consulate for almost 8 hours on September 11, of all days? The
State Department needs to be asked: Why did you deny additional
security requests that had been made for months, and could you not see
this coming? And the CIA needs to be asked a lot of questions also.
A select committee where we have members of intel, foreign relations,
and armed services listening to all three agencies explain themselves I
think is essential to get to the truth. I will not know what General
Petraeus says in the intel committee, and I want to get to ask him
questions. There will be people on the intel committee who will not be
able to ask Secretary Panetta, General Hammond, and others about the
DOD piece. This is a failure on many fronts and I think the best thing
for the Senate to do is have a bipartisan select committee where we
combine the resources of all three of the committees that have
jurisdiction over different pieces, and create a professional approach
to solving the problem. It will be run by our Democratic colleagues
because they are in charge of the body, and should be.
There have been times in the past--Iran Contra and other examples--of
where committees combined their resources to make sure they fully
understood what was being said. If we stovepipe this and one committee
goes one way and the other committee goes another way, we are not going
to get the complete picture of what happened in Benghazi. That is what
we are asking, that the minority leader and majority leader create a
select committee of the three committees that have primary jurisdiction
over each moving part so we can get to the bottom of this.
Here is why it is important: There are a lot of conspiracy theories
going around on the Internet, and I wish to be able to say that is just
not so because here is what we found. There are a lot of accusations
being made against people I know and like. I wish to be able to say
this accusation is unfounded. If unfortunately there is some
accountability to be had by somebody I like, I can say here is why we
had to do it. It would help us all to go to the public and say we did
this together and in a professional and logical way and here are the
results of our work product, so we can get Benghazi behind us and move
forward. Until we do that, I think we are failing the American people.
I think the process we are engaging in today is going to lead to
uncoordinated fact-finding and pieces of the puzzle will never be put
together because we are not talking and working together. I think we
are going to let families down. The process we are engaging in today
will not get to the truth.
Mr. McCAIN. Will the Senator yield for a question?
Mr. GRAHAM. Yes.
Mr. McCAIN. One of the most salient points of this whole scenario was
5 days after the attack when the Ambassador of the United Nations went
on all the Sunday talk shows to allege that this was a spontaneous
demonstration triggered by a hateful video. Those talking points the
Ambassador used didn't come from the CIA, it is my understanding; they
came from the White House. Who in the White House--was it the President
of the United States, was it one of his people--who was it that gave
her talking points that clearly indicated something for which there was
no basis in fact, certainly not after 5 days? Did the President ask
about this situation? Did the President of the United States say, Wait
a minute, is she going out there, when right after, on the program I
was on, ``Face The Nation,'' the President and the Libya national
assembly came on right after and said this is an al-Qaida attack, this
is a terrorist attack, and then for days afterwards, the President of
the United States goes out--including the United Nations--saying that
this was a hateful video that triggered a flash mob. None of this has a
shred of credibility.
So when we talk about the need for a select committee, when the White
House is responsible for these talking points, if they were, then that
covers all of the different oversight committees that we have in the
U.S. Senate.
Mr. GRAHAM. I will turn this over to the Senator from New Hampshire,
but my response would be as follows: There is a news article coming
from somewhere within the State Department suggesting the CIA was
responsible for consulate security because this mostly was a CIA
operation. But there is an article coming out of the CIA corners
basically saying: We responded very quickly and efficiently to the
attack.
Here is my problem. If you do not have a select committee listening
to all the stories, it is pretty hard to put the puzzle together. My
response would be, why did the people in the State Department assigned
to Benghazi ask for support from the State Department if this was, in
fact, a CIA responsibility? I want to hear the State Department explain
that. In a news article, you are trying to create the impression that
``we are a secondary player.'' That would be news to every State
Department official in Libya because they were asking the State
Department for security.
I wish to challenge the CIA's narrative of what they did and how they
did it. But I want to hear the complete story.
[[Page S6805]]
The Senator from New Hampshire has been an attorney general
prosecuting cases, and I wish to get her input into how efficient she
thinks it would be for three committees to do their own investigations,
never talk to each other in a coordinated fashion, have a stovepipe
investigation versus a coordinated, one-body-listening-to-everybody
approach?
Ms. AYOTTE. I would answer the Senator from South Carolina by saying
if we do not establish a select committee and bring everyone together,
what you can envision is an incomplete story from each.
First of all, we know that CIA sources put out a timeline for the
CIA. You have the State Department talking about prior security
requests and their view on it and e-mails that they sent on it. And
then you have the Department of Defense talking about putting out
another timeline. Where you are left is: No investigation would be
conducted in that way, from your most basic incident to this, which is,
of course, where four brave Americans were murdered during what appears
to be a terrorist attack.
So how are we then going to follow up to make sure we get the
complete picture for the American people to make sure it does not
happen again, so we can understand what went wrong, and so we can
understand what lessons we need to learn from this?
But if each committee--the Senate Foreign Relations Committee deals
with the State Department piece and the Senate Armed Services Committee
deals with the Armed Services piece--meaning, why was the greatest
military in the world not in a position to respond when the attack
occurred over 7 hours?--that is an important question that has to be
answered in the military context--and then also thinking about the
intelligence piece, the intelligence beforehand about the prior
attacks--what was happening at the annex? What response, what
information was provided?--also to the President, in terms of the prior
attacks, so that he could be informed to make sure that the consulate
was protected, and why was the consulate not protected?
If we conduct this separately we will not have a full picture for the
American people in order to make sure that we take the lessons learned
so that this does not happen again. We saw that. That is why we had a
post 9/11 Commission, because many agencies were involved in wanting to
get to the bottom of it. This is so important with four brave Americans
who have been killed. So many more questions are raised than there are
answers right now.
Most of all, we need to make sure that the complete picture of facts
comes forward. As the Senator from South Carolina said, many people
have very different impressions about this, and there are a lot of
conspiracy theories. So a full bipartisan committee that has full
jurisdiction over every area of this to come up with a complete picture
and recommendations makes sense, and it is a way for us to answer these
important questions for the American people and, of course, the
families of those who lost their loved ones in Benghazi.
Finally, I would say, with respect to my colleague from Arizona,
Senator McCain, today the President did say that with respect to
Ambassador Susan Rice on the Sunday shows, that she did that on behalf
of the White House. Well, one of the questions that needs to be
answered is, within hours there were e-mails sent to the White House
from the State Department that explained that a terrorist group, Ansar
al-Sharia, was taking responsibility for this attack. So I think a
question that needs to be answered is, why then would the Ambassador to
the U.N. on behalf of the White House, 5 days after the attack--even
though this e-mail went to the White House within hours stating that a
terrorist group is taking responsibility--go on every major news
station and say this was a spontaneous reaction to a video? She
expressly said: This was not a preplanned or premeditated attack. Why
was that done?
I think those are important questions that need to be addressed by
this committee as well because, clearly, this was not what happened. It
was a misstatement of what occurred, and we need to understand why that
was done. The American people deserve answers when you have four brave
Americans who were murdered in a terrorist attack.
Mr. McCAIN. I only have one additional comment, and that is, I
understand at the President's press conference today, he said not to,
quote, pick on his Ambassador to the United Nations, to, quote, pick on
him. That statement is really remarkable in that if the President
thinks that we are picking on people, he does not have any idea of how
serious this issue is. I am a U.S. Senator. The Senator from New
Hampshire is. We have our obligations. We have our duties representing
the people who sent us here, and we are not picking on anybody. I doubt
if the families of these brave Americans who were murdered would
believe we are, quote, picking on anyone, that when we are trying to
find out the facts, the American people deserve to know the facts.
We cannot ever let this happen again. We cannot let a security
situation evolve that our lives are in danger. We cannot ignore
recommendations. We cannot not have sufficient military available on a
September 11, where we know that tensions are incredibly high. The
American people are owed an explanation, and it is our duty to try to
get that explanation for them. And if someone carried a message to the
American people that was totally and utterly false with no basis in
fact, then that person also has to be held accountable as well.
But first and foremost, the President of the United States, the
Commander in Chief, is the most responsible. I hope the President has
no illusions about our view of his responsibility, which I believe is
that of the American people as well.
So we need this select committee. There is no credibility left
because of all the conflicting stories that have come out and the
different rumors and different statements and contradictory statements
and finger pointing. The American people deserve answers, not only
because of those who were murdered, but to make sure that a tragedy
like this never happens again.
I repeat, everybody has their responsibilities. We have ours. The
President has his. And we intend to pursue this until the American
people have the answers they deserve and they have confidence that
these kinds of mistakes will never be repeated. We take that very
seriously, and we have some disagreement when it is called ``picking on
someone.''
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