Pushing back against critics who have said no new information emerged from last week’s Benghazi hearing, Sen. Susan Collins said Sunday the congressional inquiry raised important questions about the military response to the 2012 terrorist attack.
Appearing on CNN, Mrs. Collins, Maine Republican, said testimony at the hearing again calls into question the Obama administration’s contention that no military units could have responded to the Sept. 11, 2012, attack in time to prevent the deaths of Ambassador J. Christopher Stevens and the three other Americans.
“I don’t think we could have gotten help there in time to save the ambassador and the information officer,” Mrs. Collins said on “State of the Union,” “but I do believe that help could have been sent in time to prevent the further deaths.”
Appearing on the same program was former Ambassador Thomas R. Pickering, who co-chaired an independent review of the State Department’s review of the handling of the Benghazi attack. He repeated his contention that the hearings uncovered no new information.
• David Eldridge can be reached at deldridge@washingtontimes.com.
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