Daily Beast columnist Eleanor Clift doubled down Tuesday on her controversial comments that U.S. Ambassador J. Christopher Stevens was not murdered in the Benghazi terrorist attacks, but instead died of “smoke inhalation.”
Miss Clift was asked by Newsmax host Steve Malzberg to clarify remarks she made last week during a broadcast discussion, when she said, “I’d like to point out that Ambassador Stevens was not ’murdered,’ but died of smoke inhalation in a CIA safe room.”
“I was taking issue with the sort of glib use of the word ’murdered,’ Miss Clift said Tuesday, Mediaite reported. “I think dying of smoke inhalation in the safe room of a CIA outpost has a slightly different feeling, and my point is that it was a very chaotic event. The CIA was involved which is why there was a lot of confusion initially, and that all the questions that this special committee is raising have been asked and answered in previous investigations.”
Mr. Malzberg asked whether the victims who died during the September 11, 2001, terror attacks were murdered.
“I was just trying to add a little bit of complexity, and I’m going to stick with what I said,” Miss Clift said. “I realize this causes a lot of emotion.”
“If he was, God forbid, your relative, would you tell people that he was murdered or not?” the interviewer asked.
“I would say that he died of smoke inhalation,” Miss Clift replied.
• Jessica Chasmar can be reached at jchasmar@washingtontimes.com.
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