Citing unanswered questions surrounding the Sept. 11, 2012, terrorist attack on a U.S. compound in Benghazi, Libya, three dozen Republican senators wrote a letter to Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid Thursday asking him to reconsider his decision not to name a select committee to investigate the matter in the Senate.
“While we appreciate the recent bi-partisan review of the Benghazi terrorist attacks by the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence, which included both majority and minority views, unfortunately, Congressional oversight committee action has been largely confined to jurisdictional bounds,” the senators wrote. “As a result, the committees only have a partial view of the facts.”
Mr. Reid, Nevada Democrat, has said he is comfortable with the 25,000 pages of documents that the State Department has turned over, the various reports completed and a State Department internal review that found several lower-level employees responsible for bad decision-making.
But GOP Sens. Lindsey Graham of South Carolina and Kelly Ayotte of New Hampshire said they want answers about National Security Adviser Susan Rice’s statements days after the attack associating it with a spontaneous demonstration resulting from an anti-Muslim video, among other things, such as President Obama’s exact whereabouts on Sept. 11, 2012.
“We could learn a lot if we talk to her about Benghazi,” Mr. Graham said.
Ms. Rice, then the U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations, said Wednesday that after various inquiries, “it’s hard to imagine” what will be revealed further by another investigation on Benghazi.
House Speaker John A. Boehner, Ohio Republican, recently announced the formation of a select committee in the House to investigate the attack.
• David Sherfinski can be reached at dsherfinski@washingtontimes.com.
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