House Democrats Will Stay On Benghazi Committee

@reuters
House Democrats Will Stay On Benghazi Committee

WASHINGTON (Reuters) — The Democratic members of the House of Representatives Benghazi Select Committee said on Friday they thought the panel should be shut down, but would continue to participate if it were not.

“After yesterday’s 11-hour hearing, there can be no remaining doubt that the Benghazi Select Committee is a taxpayer-funded fishing expedition to derail Secretary Clinton’s presidential campaign,” the five Democrats said in a statement.

They said they met with Nancy Pelosi, who leads the Democrats in the House, on Friday, and then called on the Republican House speaker, John Boehner, to shut down the committee.

But, they added: “If the Speaker rejects our request, Democrats will continue to participate at this point in order to make sure the facts are known and the conspiracy theories are debunked.”

Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton, who was U.S. Secretary of State at the time of the Sept. 11, 2012, attacks in Libya, passed a tough political test on Thursday, calmly deflecting harsh Republican criticism of her handling of the incident during a testy 11-hour hearing in Congress.

The Democrats on the panel had said they would discuss whether to resign after Clinton testified. Democrats have criticized the panel as an expensive, time-consuming project bent on hurting Clinton’s 2016 presidential aspirations.

Republicans say the purpose of the panel is to thoroughly investigate the incident, which killed four Americans, including U.S. Ambassador Chris Stevens.

The Democratic members of the committee are U.S. Representatives Elijah Cummings, the ranking member, Adam Smith, Adam Schiff, Linda Sanchez and Tammy Duckworth.

(Reporting by Patricia Zengerle)

Photo: Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton shakes hands with Rep. Peter Welch (D-VT) after concluding her first round of testimony in front of the House Select Committee on Benghazi, on Capitol Hill in Washington October 22, 2015. REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst

Start your day with National Memo Newsletter

Know first.

The opinions that matter. Delivered to your inbox every morning

How A Stuttering President Confronts A Right-Wing Bully

Donald Trump mocks Joe Biden’s stutter,” the headlines blare, and I am confronted (again) with (more) proof that the presumptive Republican presidential nominee hates people like me.

Keep reading...Show less
Trump at Trump Tower

Former President Donald Trump at Trump Tower in Manhattan

NEW YORK, March 25 (Reuters) - Donald Trump faces a Monday deadline to post a bond to cover a $454 million civil fraud judgment or face the risk of New York state seizing some of his marquee properties.Trump, seeking to regain the presidency this year, must either pay the money out of his own pocket or post a bond while he appeals Justice Arthur Engoron's February 16 judgment against him for manipulating his net worth and his family real estate company's property values to dupe lenders and insurers.

Keep reading...Show less
{{ post.roar_specific_data.api_data.analytics }}