[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 159 (2013), Part 8]
[House]
[Pages 11720-11721]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                          BENGHAZI UNANSWERED

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The Chair recognizes the gentleman from 
Virginia (Mr. Wolf) for 5 minutes.
  Mr. WOLF. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to ask another question that has 
not yet been answered by the House. This question will be the third in 
a series of critical issues that have not yet been resolved. I will 
continue to raise additional questions for the next 9 legislative days 
until we depart for August recess, keeping in mind that the 1-year 
anniversary of the Benghazi attacks will be upon us when the Congress 
returns in September.
  It is also noteworthy that there does not appear to be a single 
hearing on Benghazi scheduled in any committee between now and the 1-
year anniversary. That is why, in the absence of public hearings to 
address these questions, I am raising them on the House floor this 
month.
  On Tuesday, I raised the question on why none of the Benghazi 
survivors--whether the State Department, CIA, or private security 
contractor employee--have testified publicly before Congress.
  Yesterday, I asked about whether there had been any intelligence 
failures in the vetting of the Libyan militias who abandoned the 
Americans at the consulate as the assault began. I also asked who 
provided the terrorists with a detailed understanding of the consulate 
property.
  Today, I return again to the Benghazi survivors and other career 
employees and contractors working for the CIA, Defense Department, and 
the State Department who were involved in the response, or the lack 
thereof, to the Benghazi attacks.
  According to trusted sources that have contacted my office, many, if 
not all, of the survivors of the Benghazi attacks, along with others at 
the Department of Defense and CIA, have been asked or directed to sign 
additional nondisclosure agreements about their involvement in the 
Benghazi attacks. Some of these new NDAs, as they call them, I have 
been told, were signed as recently as this summer.
  It is worth noting that the Marine Corps Times yesterday reported 
that the marine colonel whose task force was responsible for special 
operations in northern and western Africa at the time of the attack is 
still on Active Duty despite claims that he retired and, therefore, 
could not be forced to testify before Congress.
  If these reports are accurate, this would be a stunning revelation to 
any Member of Congress--any Member of Congress that finds this out--and 
also, more importantly, to the American people. It also raises serious 
concerns about the propriety of the administration's efforts to silence 
those with knowledge of the Benghazi attack and response.
  So today I ask: How many Federal employees, military personnel, or 
contractors have been asked to sign additional nondisclosure agreements 
by each agency? Do these nondisclosure agreements apply only to those 
under cover, or have noncovert State Department and Defense Department 
employees been directed to sign them, too?
  Later today, I will be writing the CIA, Defense Department, and State 
Department to ask for a list of all of their personnel or contractors 
who

[[Page 11721]]

have been required to sign original or additional NDAs relating to 
Benghazi. Perhaps, through a list of all the employees that have signed 
the NDAs relating to Benghazi, we may finally develop a witness list to 
subpoena for eyewitness testimony to learn what happened that night 
where we lost four American lives.
  I do not expect the Obama administration to be forthcoming with 
answers, but if this Congress--if this Congress--does not ask for the 
information and compel delivery, the American people will never learn 
the truth. Any Federal employee or contractor who has been coerced into 
silence through a nondisclosure agreement should expect Congress to 
speak out on their behalf and compel their voice to be heard.
  That is why I, along with 159 of my colleagues, support a select 
committee to hold public hearings to learn the truth about what 
happened that night in Benghazi. I say to any colleague who is not on 
our resolution, if you are not on our resolution, please get on so we 
can find the truth for the American people.

                          ____________________