Kerry Not ‘Prepared’ to Let Congress Interview Benghazi Survivors – Read the Scathing Response From One Lawmaker Who Isn’t Taking No for an Answer
TheBlaze’s Becket Adams contributed to this report
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Secretary of State John Kerry has
informed Congress he “will not honor the request to make Benghazi
survivors available for questioning,” CBS News reporter Sharyl Attkisson reports.
Republicans in the House Oversight
Committee reportedly plan to issue subpoenas if Kerry does not reverse
his decision and provide congressional investigators access to Benghazi
survivors.
WASHINGTON,
DC – SEPTEMBER 10: U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry prepares to
testify before the House Armed Services Committee on Capitol Hill
September 10, 2013 in Washington, DC. Congress may have avoided a
difficult vote this week after Kerry suggested that the United States
would possibly halt plans for a military strike against Syria if that
country turned over its chemical weapons to the international community.
Credit: Getty Images
House Oversight Committee Chairman Rep.
Darrell Issa (R-Calif.) on Monday sent Kerry a formal letter demanding
access to the survivors of the Sept. 11, 2012, terrorist attack on the
U.S. Consulate in Benghazi, Libya.
“I must receive confirmation that the
[State] Department will makes these witnesses available to Committee
investigators by September 24, 2013,” the letter reads.
“Otherwise, I will have no alternative but to consider the use of compulsory process,” the letter adds.
The congressman points out that this is
not the first time that the Committee has demanded access to the
Benghazi survivors. In fact, he notes, the State Department has
dutifully ignored or denied earlier requests for access.
The State Department told the
Committee on Aug. 23, 2013, that it was not “prepared to support the
[Committee’s] request for transcribed interviews.”
This would appear odd, the letter
notes, considering certain Benghazi survivors have been available for
various media appearances.
A recent “Vanity Fair” article, for
instance, described the night of the attack and included details that
only “persons who survived the attack could possibly know.”
Additionally, Rep. Issa explains, Fox News reported in July that it had made contact with David Ubben, one of the survivors
You can read the full letter here:
Four Americans — U.S. Ambassador Chris
Stevens, Sean Smith, Glen Doherty and Tyrone Woods — were killed in an
attack on the U.S. consulate in Benghazi, Libya, on last year’s 9/11
anniversary.
CNN recently reported,
citing anonymous sources, that the CIA is polygraphing its operatives
on a regular basis in an “unprecedented” effort to prevent Benghazi
secrets from leaking out.
CNN also revealed that as many 35
Americans were in Benghazi on the night of the deadly terror attack,
according to inside sources. As many as seven were wounded and 21
Americans were reportedly working in the building known as the CIA
annex.
Featured image via AP
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