Posted on 05/14/2013 3:56:13 AM PDT by markomalley
House Republican members are defying Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) and five committee chairmen by endorsing a measure that would set up a special panel to investigate the deadly attacks in Benghazi, Libya.
A growing number of members on the committees with jurisdiction over the Benghazi matter — Intelligence, Judiciary, Oversight and Government Reform, Armed Services and Foreign Affairs — have signed onto Rep. Frank Wolf’s (R-Va.) resolution.
Boehner and the chairmen of those committees do not support the legislation. Instead, they have worked together to investigate the Obama administration’s handling of the Sept. 11, 2012 assault.
Despite that resistance, Wolf has garnered a sizable majority of the GOP Conference as co-sponsors since introducing the measure in January. It has 146 GOP co-sponsors, with more than 80 Republicans backing it over the last month.
Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) has also embraced a special committee and attempted to pry the GOP-led House to schedule a vote. That would put pressure, McCain has pointed out, on the Senate to act.
According to a review of the House co-sponsors, a majority of GOP lawmakers on the Armed Services, Judiciary and Oversight and Government Reform committees and half of the GOP lawmakers on the Foreign Affairs panel have endorsed the Wolf resolution.
Former Foreign Affairs Committee Chairwoman Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (R-Fla.) signed on to the resolution Monday, while former Homeland Security Committee Chairman Pete King (R-N.Y.) endorsed it during a television interview. Late last week, former Judiciary Committee Chairman James Sensenbrenner Jr. (R-Wis.) became a co-sponsor.
Two of the Intelligence Committee’s 12 GOP lawmakers, Reps. Michele Bachmann (Minn.) and Tom Rooney (Fla.), have signed on.
Not one Democrat has co-sponsored the Wolf resolution.
President Obama on Monday dismissed GOP charges that his administration covered up the truth about the attacks in Benghazi, calling them a politically motivated “sideshow” that does “dishonor” to the nation’s diplomats.
He added: “The whole issue of talking points, frankly, throughout this process has been a sideshow. The fact that this keeps getting churned out, frankly, has a lot to do with political motivations.”
Wolf told The Hill in an interview, “I think you want to bring together the very best minds, you want to focus like a laser beam ... bring an outside counsel to coordinate, direct and unify ... bring it together in 90 days.”
Should Boehner not seek a vote on Wolf’s resolution, the Virginia congressman revealed he might have several opportunities to offer the measure as an amendment on the House floor during the appropriations bill process in June.
“I would look for a way to offer an amendment on the floor. Appropriations bills are coming. There will be opportunities,” Wolf explained.
Detractors say that creating a select committee would be counterproductive to the work that has already been undertaken by the five committees of jurisdiction.
They maintain that the 90-day timeline would allow for administration stonewalling, and with only 19 members on the committee — 10 of which would be the committee chairmen and ranking members of the panels with jurisdiction — said it would be difficult to appoint standout questioners to the select panel.
On Sunday, House Oversight and Government Reform Committee Chairman Darrell Issa (R-Calif.) dismissed the idea of a creating a select committee: “... it needs to be investigated. Our committee can investigate.”
Last Thursday, Wolf sent a stinging letter to Boehner, citing the support for his select committee cause the day after Oversight and Government Reform held a high-profile hearing on Benghazi.
“The revelations at [last week’s] hearing have raised serious questions about the administration’s efforts to respond to the Americans under fire at the annex in Benghazi. What remains to be seen is whether the House will be complicit in that failure, or if we will pursue the truth — wherever it may take us — to ensure that we continue to deserve the sacrifices made by the men and women who serve our country,” Wolf wrote.
Boehner last week remained firm in his commitment to follow “regular order” and allow the committees with jurisdiction to continue to share the workload.
He highlighted the Oversight and Government Reform Committee’s performance in questioning State Department whistle-blower Gregory Hicks.
“I thought that Chairman Issa and the members of the Government Reform and Oversight Committee ... did a fabulous job in a very long day of hearings of eliciting more information that, frankly, we haven’t had for the last eight months,” Boehner said.
A senior House Republican aide said, “It should be pretty clear after last week that there is already a committee leading the overarching investigation, and that is Chairman Issa’s committee. After last week’s hearing, there is growing concern, even among members who’ve advocated the creation of a select committee in the past, that throwing all this to a select committee now instead of letting Issa’s panel continue to do its work would actually impede the investigation.”
Since the hearing last week, seven House Republicans have formally co-sponsored Wolf’s legislation, including Deputy Whip Tom Cole (Okla.).
On Monday afternoon, Issa’s committee sent out a notice that it would be taking testimony from Ambassador Tom Pickering and retired Adm. Michael Mullen, who led the State Department investigation on Benghazi. Issa gave notice during recent media appearances that he might subpoena additional witnesses. Former Vice President Cheney last week suggested the GOP should subpoena former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.
That’s so true. They listen to the people and they’re easy to listen to.
They know what they’re talking about. They know the people in question.
I’m starting to think your way.
boner is limp, flaccid and vapid. boner is one of the most feckless humans. Should boner be taking testosterone?
What’s boner got to do with Levin and Rush?
Issa’s committee really did not get much skin off obama’s and Holder's hides for Fast and Furious. He's seems adverse to the idea of using subpoenas to force the rats out of hiding to force testimony and documents.
Can someone explain to me why a select committee would be restricted to 90 days? Did Ken Starr have a 90 day window?
Since it appears to me that Mark Levin understands the workings of our government far better than I, and his vote is for a committee, I am inclined to go with his recommendation.
What Issa is doing has been interesting, but it feels more like random meetings that just pop up and nothing concrete comes of them. Maybe I am just not understanding what the advantage is to letting Issa run with this. And when does the under oath part come in?
Also, if Cheney is for a select committee, I have far more confidence in him then Boehner!
We are led by a man who often cries and cannot control his own household
Then allow me to rephrase the question. Chairman Issa, how many people have received JUSTICE from, or because of, the Fast and Furious investigation? We have followed that story ar least as faithfully as we have Benghazi, and the end result has been NOTHING. Zip. Nada. No one has been fired, No one has been held accountable. NO JUSTICE HAS BEEN DONE for the families of the slain ICE and ATF agents, for the hundreds of Mexican and possibly other Americans murdered with walked weapons.
Yes, indeed! We want justice.
Yep
I’d bet the farm
This article is an excellent example of why many people do not understand what Republican are up to. Nothing like using many names of committees to completely confuse the low information voters.
I could have written this article, using half the space while informing what is going on in a way that everyone, not just political junkies, would understand.
Yes - Congress focus on Benghazi (tell Boehner to go suck an egg)... The IRS and AP scandals have basically been admitted to... the smoke from these fiascoes will help undermine obama - because they are more clear and understandable to the American people. Let them smolder and finally burst into flame. Meanwhile - turn Benghazi into a bonfire - the bonfire of obama’s vanities ... :)
That’s the way, bypass Lt. NoBalls and get to the truth on this.
This is a critical point. Bill Clinton evaded having to answer the same sort of investigative committee (chaired by then-senator Fred Thompson) during the various Clinton scandals. It's easy for an administration, especially one beloved and protected by the press, to stall for 90 days, all the while making public statements about how they're cooperating in every regard. Once the 90 days were over, he didn't have to answer a single question from the committee.
In the failed world of Communism, all functions of a Society are controlled by a Central Government.
Our Central Federal Government has been easily taken over by Obama to the gleeful cheers of MSNBC and others in the Liberal Agenda Media.
This is as good a time as any to take note of those who have willingly enabled the blatant Communist ideas and programs of Obama to take hold in our Central Federal Government.
It is also a good time to take note of the many dictatorial powers that our sorry US Congress has granted over many decades to the Administration Branch and related Bureaus of our Central Federal Government.
Just to balance our income with our spending, the Central Federal Government must reduce spending by 40 percent.
The longer we wait to “cut or way to prosperity” and repeal and abolish Federal Regulations, the greater our financial debt and less Liberty we will have.
For example, if Central Federal Government Regulations were reduced by 40 percent, our Society would be 40 percent further removed from control by the Central Federal Government.
Currently, there are 3 major Impeachable Scandals that our sorry RINOs could use to remove Obama from our Central, semi-Communist, Federal Government.
My question is: “Do our sorry Congressional RINOs have the POLITICAL MOTIVATION to Impeach and Remove B. Hussein Obama, aka Barry Soetoro, a legal citizen of Indonesia?”
” Boehner and McConnel are such disappointments.”
My words are a bit harsh....
Well done, Bon Mot! Pretty well sums it up.
“...Benghazi is where the fire is, the IRS/AP scandals are smoke. ...”
exactly!!!!
they got their stories straight on those two; a few firings and slap on wrist, 8 months later people (some) will tire of Benghazi.......
And he will do his level best, behind the scenes, to try and stop it, like he did on *Fast and Furious*.
He is OBozo's biggest stealth defender, I have no doubt about that.
If Gingrich had been Speaker it’s unlikely Obama would have won in 2012.
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