[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 158 (2012), Part 11]
[Senate]
[Pages 15222-15226]
[From the U.S. 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:

                              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

[[Page 15223]]

     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
       (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

[[Page 15224]]

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 
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

[[Page 15225]]

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.
  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.

[[Page 15226]]

  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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