Judicial Watch Statement on House Benghazi Report

(Washington, DC) – Judicial Watch President Tom Fitton made the following statement regarding the official report from House Select Committee on Benghazi, revealing that the Obama administration never attempted to deploy military assets or troops throughout the entire 13-hour terrorist attack on the U.S. Special Mission Compound in Benghazi:

“The Select Committee report further confirms what Judicial Watch already uncovered through its independent investigations.  Our investigation continues, as the Clinton email obstruction of our Benghazi FOIA lawsuit is the subject of court-ordered discovery.  This report proves beyond all doubt that after four Americans died in Benghazi, the Obama administration lied.  While we appreciate the Select Committee’s efforts, Judicial Watch’s Benghazi effort has been one of the most significant non-government investigations in modern American history.”

As Reps. Mike Pompeo and Jim Jordan said in a supplement to the official report:

“We are now convinced, contrary to the administration’s public claim that the military did not have time to get to Benghazi, that the administration never launched men or machines to help directly in the fight. That is very different from what we have been told to date. And the evidence is compelling.”

On December 8, 2015, Judicial Watch issued a news release providing proof positive that what the House Select Committee is now reporting is accurate beyond a shadow of a doubt. As Judicial Watch reported in the release:

Judicial Watch today released a new Benghazi email from then-Department of Defense Chief of Staff Jeremy Bash to State Department leadership immediately offering “forces that could move to Benghazi” during the terrorist attack on the U.S. Special Mission Compound in Benghazi, Libya on September 11, 2012. In an email sent to top Department of State officials, at 7:19 p.m. ET, only hours after the attack had begun, Bash says, “we have identified the forces that could move to Benghazi. They are spinning up as we speak.” The Obama administration redacted the details of the military forces available, oddly citing a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) exemption that allows the withholding of “deliberative process” information.

An in-depth analysis of the Obama administration “spinning up” deception can be found in the lead story of the December 11, 2015, Judicial Watch Weekly Update.

On April 29, 2014, Judicial Watch released 41 Benghazi-related State Department documents. They included a then-newly declassified email showing former White House Deputy Strategic Communications Adviser Ben Rhodes and other Obama administration public relations officials attempting to orchestrate a campaign to “reinforce” President Obama and to portray the Benghazi terrorist attack as being “rooted in an Internet video, and not a failure of policy.”  Other documents show that State Department officials initially described the incident as an “attack” and a possible kidnap attempt. The release of these documents led to the formation of the Benghazi Special Select Committee.

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