By Donovan Slack

 

 

WASHINGTON — Wisconsin Republicans in the House voted unanimously on Thursday to form a special committee to investigate the events surrounding the attacks on the U.S. mission in Benghazi, Libya, on Sept. 11, 2012.

 

Saying too many questions remain unanswered, Reps. Reid Ribble of Sherwood, Tom Petri of Fond du Lac, Paul Ryan of Janesville and James Sensenbrenner of Menomonee Falls all supported initiating the probe. Four Americans died in the attacks, including U.S. Ambassador Chris Stevens.

 

One of the core questions cited by Republicans is whether the Obama administration deliberately misled the American people by saying initially that it was triggered by an Internet video, when in fact it was a terrorist attack perpetrated in part by militants with ties to al-Qaida.

 

Such a revelation may have affected President Barack Obama’s re-election bid several weeks later.

 

“It does appear when you look at this that in and around the election, they didn’t want this to come out,” Ribble said. “And I think quite frankly, if I were to put myself in the place of a mom or dad who lost a son or daughter, a child who lost a parent that night, I would want a better answer than that.”

 

“It’s quite clear that there was considerable confusion on the administration’s part in the aftermath, and it has been charged that officials focused more on playing politics before an election than investigating,” Petri said. “Others are saying there were requests for more protection at the consulate. There are just too many unanswered questions for this to be dismissed.”

 

Rep. Sean Duffy of Wausau was home in Wisconsin caring for his newborn baby and so didn’t vote but had a statement of support entered in the Congressional record.

 

“I am hopeful that this Select Committee will finish the much needed work of holding the Administration accountable for its failures surrounding this attack, deliver justice to those terrorists who murdered these four Americans, and bring peace to the families of the victims,” he said.

 

Democrats blasted the effort, saying there have already been eight separate investigations of the attacks, costing taxpayers millions of dollars and none found any evidence of a cover-up. Rep. Ron Kind, D-La Crosse, also noted that the committee is not required to adopt written rules for its operation and will have mostly Republican members.

 

“This is a blatant, politically motivated attempt to exploit this tragedy for partisan gain which will do nothing to help make American personnel safer overseas,” he said.

 

Rep. Gwen Moore, D-Milwaukee, said Congress has already boosted funding for diplomatic security and authorized more Marine security at posts around the globe.

 

“The new committee would have no additional power or authority to investigate the attacks that does not already rest with the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee,” she said. “Sadly, it appears this exercise is nothing more than another partisan distraction.”

 

The 12-member committee, which will include five Democrats and be chaired by Rep. Trey Gowdy, R-S.C., is tasked with investigating “policies, decisions and activities” that led up to the attacks, the U.S. response, and efforts to bring those responsible to justice. The committee will then issue a report to Congress.

 

The move to create the committee followed the release to conservative watchdog Judicial Watch last week of an email exchange in which a White House official laid out “goals” for Susan Rice, the U.N. ambassador at the time, when she appeared on television five days after the attacks. One of them was to “underscore that these protests are rooted in an Internet video, and not a broader failure of policy.”

 

Another was to “reinforce the President and Administration’s strength and steadiness in dealing with difficult challenges.”

 

The White House has said the email was about an array of incidents in the Mideast, including protests in Egypt that were triggered by the video, and not solely Benghazi.

 

Whatever the case, both sides already are batting the Benghazi committee around like a political football -- one they are sure to be kicking at least through the November midterm elections.

 

The campaign arm of the House GOP, the National Republican Congressional Committee, sent out fundraising emails touting the Benghazi investigation even before the vote Thursday, and the Democratic National Committee fired off a slew of statements, a video and Tweets trying to undermine the viability of the investigation.

 

Ribble decried the politicization of the tragedy. He said he was particularly struck when Tommy Vietor, a former White House National Security spokesman who helped prep Rice for the appearances, said on Fox News last week that he couldn’t remember if he changed the word “attacks” to “protests” in her talking points. “Dude, this was like two years ago,” Vietor said.

 

“I think they’re going to do whatever they can to diminish the importance of this,” Ribble said. “And I believe at a bare minimum that Ambassador Stevens and the other three that gave their lives on behalf of their country that night, those families deserve a better answer than ‘Dude, it was two and a half years ago.’”

 

 

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