Rep. Becerra: Benghazi Investigation A Political Attack On Clinton

Democratic Rep. Xavier Becerra of California has slammed the House Select Committee on Benghazi’s latest report as a partisan effort to discredit presumptive Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton.

On June 28, the House panel released a final report on the attack on the U.S. consulate in Benghazi, their findings amassed in a document exceeding 800 pages. There were no new major revelations about the attack.

The report also did not directly blame former Secretary of State Clinton for the deaths of four Americans during the incident, although it did criticize her and other State Department officials for not heeding warnings Libya had become increasingly dangerous and unstable in the weeks leading up to the attack, The Washington Post reports.

While two Republican members of the panel released their own version of the report emphasizing blame for Clinton, Democratic lawmakers released their own report a day before strongly refuting the committee’s findings, accusing House Republicans of using Benghazi as a political tool to hurt Clinton.

“Well, I think that was the purpose Republicans had in mind,” Rep. Becerra told CNN.

“What we’ve learned from this latest, ninth investigation is one, it’s cost taxpayers more than $7 million [and] two, it was always meant to, as Republican leaders said at the very beginning, to reduce Secretary Clinton’s poll numbers as she runs for president.”

Becerra was referring to comments made in October 2015 by The House Majority Leader, Republican Rep. Kevin McCarthy of California, who had strongly implied that the House panel had been formed to damage Clinton’s presidential campaign.

“Everybody thought Hillary Clinton was unbeatable, right?” McCarthy told Fox News. “But we put together a Benghazi special committee, a select committee. What are her numbers today? Her numbers are dropping. Why? Because she’s untrustable. But no one would have known any of that had happened had we not fought to make that happen.”

Becerra dismissed the House panel’s report as a waste of time, asserting that its do not differ from what was already established by previous investigations.

“What we learned in terms of actual facts is nothing more than what we learned in the previous eight investigations,” Becerra said. “I think it won’t make a difference. While Republicans may have tried to make a difference, they’re finding they’ve used a lot of taxpayer dollars for a partisan witch hunt.”

Becerra has endorsed Clinton for the presidency and has been rumored to be on the shortlist for her potential vice presidential pick.

The chairman of the Benghazi panel, Republican Rep. Trey Gowdy of South Carolina, defended the report and the length of the investigation during a press conference.

“My job is to report facts,” Gowdy said. “You can draw whatever conclusions you want to draw.”

In reference to Democratic lawmakers’ accusations of GOP partisanship, Gowdy replied “Color me shocked that they are critical of our report.”

Sources: CNN, Fox News via Youtube, The Washington Post / Photo Credit: Senate Democrats / Flickr