Rep. Peter King: Petraeus Said He Knew Terrorists Were Involved in Benghazi Attack; CIA's Talking Points Were Changed

by Fox News Insider // Nov 16 2012 // 9:18am

Gen. David Petraeus, who resigned as CIA Director a week ago, is testifying before the House and Senate Intelligence Committees this morning on the Sept. 11 terror attack in Benghazi, Libya.

Rep. Peter King (R-NY) was present in the House's closed-door hearing and summed up what the general told the lawmakers.

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1:30p ET UPDATE: King tells Megyn Kelly: . “If I had to presume, I’d say it was somebody in the administration had to have taken it out..." Watch the video here.

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Notably, he said Petraeus recalled stating even in the days after the attack that there was a significant terrorist element to the attack. Lawmakers have said that Petraeus cited the anti-Islam video in the days after the attack and did not call it a planned attack.

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RELATED LINKS:
Report: Petraeus Pushed Out for Challenging Administration’s Timeline on Libya
WATCH — Obama Responds to Ed Henry’s Questioning on Benghazi Attack: Immediately Upon Finding Out Our People Were in Danger, I Told My Team to Do Whatever We Could to Keep Them Safe
Obama Hits Back at GOP Criticism of Susan Rice: ‘When They Go After the UN Ambassador – Because They Think She’s an Easy Target – Then They’ve Got a Problem With Me’
VIDEO HIGHLIGHTS: Republican Senators McCain, Graham and Ayotte Hold News Conference on Benghazi Investigation

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King said he had a "very different recollection" of what Petraeus initially said, recalling that he interpreted Petraeus' early assessment as minimizing terrorists' involvement in the attack and emphasizing that it arose out of anger over the video.
"The clear impression we were given was that the overwhelming amount of evidence was that it arose out of a spontaneous demonstration and that it was not a terrorist attack," said King, describing the testimony as "cordial" and praising Petraeus as a "patriot."
King said that Petraeus testified that "the original talking points prepared by the CIA (about the attack) were different from the ones that were finally put out" by the administration.
Meanwhile, Rep. Dutch Ruppersberger (D-MD), the committee’s ranking Democrat, also briefed reporters after Petraeus testified to the House Intelligence Committee. He gave a different impression of what Petraeus spoke about, including how the general explained the discrepancies between the administration's accounts of the attack. Watch those remarks, here.

Watch King's statements: