The chairman of the House Select Committee tasked with investigating the Sept. 11, 2012 terrorist attack on a U.S. compound in Benghazi, Libya, said Friday he plans to begin interviews with State Department personnel as early as next week and released a list of 20 names of people, including top current and former Obama administration officials, he also plans to interview.
“I am announcing an ambitious timeline for interviews consistent with my plan to speed up the pace of the investigation,” Rep. Trey Gowdy, South Carolina Republican, said in a statement. “I intend to stay with this schedule and will issue subpoenas if necessary.”
The list of names outlined in a letter to Rep. Elijah Cummings, Maryland Democrat and the committee’s ranking member, include Gen. Martin E. Dempsey, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, former White House press secretary Jay Carney, and National Security Adviser Susan E. Rice, who was the U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations at the time of the attack that left four Americans dead, including U.S. Ambassador to Libya J. Christopher Stevens.
Mr. Gowdy also wrote in his letter that both the majority and minority would like to schedule an appearance by former Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton “as soon as possible.”
“I welcome input from the minority and hope they will provide it expeditiously,” Mr. Gowdy said. “If not, I have been forthcoming and transparent about the committee’s plan to move forward.”
Democrats on the committee had written to the Committee on House Administration Thursday saying the panel, which the House reauthorized this year as part of a must-pass rules package, was being funded outside of the normal budget rules of the body.
Rep. Candice Miller, Michigan Republican and chairman of the committee, replied that Democrats should have offered an amendment at the time if they had concerns.
• David Sherfinski can be reached at dsherfinski@washingtontimes.com.
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