Posted on 05/05/2014 12:01:36 PM PDT by Sub-Driver
White House may not cooperate with Benghazi select panel
By Justin Sink - 05/05/14 02:40 PM EDT
The White House suggested Monday it may not cooperate with a new House select committee investigating the terror attack in Benghazi.
Press secretary Jay Carney said that the White House has "always cooperated with legitimate oversight," but called the new probe a “highly partisan effort to politicize” the deadly attack.
"If you look at even what some Republicans have said, it certainly casts doubt on the legitimacy of an effort that is so partisan in nature," Carney said.
"I don't think there are many people, including some Republicans… who believe that this is necessary after seven congressional committees and multiple investigations," he added.
Carney refused to answer questions directly about whether the White House would cooperate, but he noted that there had been 13 congressional hearings, 50 member-and staff briefings, and over 25,000 pages of documents produced over the September 11, 2012 terror attack, in which four Americans were killed.
"One thing this Congress is not short on is investigations into what happened before, during, and after Benghazi," he said.
"And all of these investigations… have found that the facts as we describe them, in terms of how we approach this, remain exactly as we described them then, the facts of yesterday or the facts today," Carney continued. "And they will be the facts no matter how often or for how long Republicans engage in highly partisan efforts to politicize what was a tragedy."
Earlier Monday, Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) announced that Rep. Trey Gowdy (R-S.C.) will head the new select committee.
Boehner decided to call for the committee last week, after the revelation of an email from White House deputy national security adviser Ben Rhodes, who recommended then-U.N. Ambassador Susan Rice should “underscore that these protests are rooted in an Internet video, and not a broader failure of policy.”
The White House has maintained that Rhodes was merely prepping Rice to discuss protests across the Middle East, and not the Benghazi incident specifically. Republicans, though, said the document is evidence the White House was pushing the narrative that the violence in Benghazi grew from anger over an anti-Islam YouTube to protect the president's bid for reelection.
“Trey Gowdy is as dogged, focused, and serious-minded as they come,” Boehner said in a statement announcing the appointment on Monday. “His background as a federal prosecutor and his zeal for the truth make him the ideal person to lead this panel.
“I know he shares my commitment to get to the bottom of this tragedy and will not tolerate any stonewalling from the Obama administration,” Boehner continued.
But Carney repeatedly dismissed the effort as conspiratorial and politically motivated.
"At some point you just have to assume Republicans will continue this because it feeds a political objective of some point," Carney said.
"The facts begin not to matter to those who fervently want to believe something else," he added.
Carney also chided Republicans for not focusing on issues "Americans really care about," like the economy.
"The effort to politicize this has continued unabated," Carney said.
House Democrats have not yet said whether they would participate in the select committee. Carney said the White House would leave it up to House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) on whether to participate.
Yo CarneyBarker, the ONLY reason this Select Committee exists is because you refused to cooperate already with the previous committees by WILLFULLY withholding documents and evidence from their earlier subpoenas .... as was proven by the Judicial Watch FOIA lawsuit evidence ...
It was my understanding that the “Independent Counsel” was done away with when the Ethics law sunset in ‘99.
From my understanding, and please correct me with corroborating evidence, a Special Prosecutor can still be appointed by either the AG or Congress. I’d rather be corrected than continue to be wrong about this...
I don’t see Gowdy getting much traction without some actual legal force behind his Committee.
And that strategy worked so well for Nixon. The big difference then was the Media were howling for Nixon’s scalp, and now there is scarcely a stir for even a mild reproof of the Current Occupant’s mischievous ways, from the docile and compliant lap dogs that make up the Ministry of Propaganda.
Instead, the attempt is to shift the narrative. “Yeah, we know there are some bad things going on now, but Bush let 3,000 people get killed in one day! So how important is losing just four people at Benghazi compared to that?”
Of course the Current Regime doesn’t want any more of the dirt of Benghazi to get out there. The Democrat party would not recover for a generation.
None of them have clean hands.
Check the thread below. Dems in Congress hinting they may also boycott the select committee.
And thus the strategy is in place.
White Hut refuses cooperation.
Dems in Congress boycott, leaving an all-GOP committee.
Obama screams “partisan witch hunt!”
White Hut challenges every subpoena up to the SCOTUS level.
Think they can drag this out past the end of Barry’s term this way?
I do.
Bottom line - will the Obama administration recognize the authority of The House of Representatives and submit to it, or not?
If not, there is only one alternative under The Constitution. They must impeach, regardless of what the Senate might or might not do.
They’ve got to be hiding something a lot bigger than old fashioned gun running by the CIA... We’re they arming Iran?
Release the flying monkeys. If the Repubs let this slide, it will only confirm we have lost our form of government and are in the throes of a Marxist coup d’etat.
Someone needs to ask Clownie next time he spews the line about this has all been covered and nothing is there with...
Jay, if what you are saying has an ounce of truth to it why did the Administration and the State Department refuse to comply with a Legal Supena of Documents related to Benghazi by two Congressional Oversight Committees.
Why as late as the 17th of April of this year were officals attempting to classify documents that until that point were not classifed related to benghazi that were demanded for in the Supenas issued in August of 2013? Was it to hide them from the Federal Court in the Judicial Watch case or Congressional Supenas?
Why did these same documents get turned over to Judicial Watch after a Federal Judge ordered them released, while the Administration continued to refuse to comply with Congress?
“Think they can drag this out past the end of Barry’s term this way?” - BM
Gowdy’s counter to this tactic is to press articles of impeachment through the House. If the GOP is unwilling to do this - then the House is powerless against the executive branch.
IOWs “Congress is not a legitimate branch of government.”
We have to remind everyone we talk to about this that when Nixon lied to the American people that no one had died. Four Americans died and this is the political cover-up for that.
Our president is a lawyer who has been very adept at not taking responsibility for anything negative that has happened during his time in office. He is now out of rope. The knot is tied and the gallows is being constructed that will end his political career with a sudden drop.
And he has earned it.
Say what you will about Nixon, though I believe he conducted business no differently than those before him, he actually was intelligent unlike captain zero.
“I think Omama and the boys are beginning to sweat”
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Nope. They’ll tap dance around this for the next 2 years.
.
The position of this president on any investigations into the massive corruption in his administration is basically, “You partisan hacks! Come and get me if you dare!”
When push comes to shove, let’s see what kind of backbone the Republicans have.
The only people who don't want to disclose the truth are people with something to hide
Here’s a big hope the WH does not cooperate.
They’ll wash their hands and seal their fate.
If there is nothing there, then why not just let the GOP implode finding nothing?
Reagan told his people to corporate in every way on Iran-Contra because they knew there was nothing to it.
“That cuts both ways Carneyboy.”
Carney is Baghdad Bob’s “Boy.” When FUBO goes to jail, Carney should go with him.
They’re scared, otherwise they wouldn’t lash out like this, they’d just ignore it.
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