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Becerra: Democrats will participate if Benghazi panel 'fair, open and balanced'
The Hill ^ | May 11, 2014 | Russell Berman

Posted on 05/11/2014 10:12:27 AM PDT by jazusamo

A senior House Democrat said Sunday the party is ready to participate in the Benghazi select committee as long as the process is “fair, open and balanced.”

Rep. Xavier Becerra (D-Calif.), who as caucus chairman is the fourth-ranking House Democrat, would not commit to the party appointing members to the new House panel, but he said Democrats did not have specific demands like a requirement to sign off on the issuing of subpoenas. “If it’s a fair, open and balanced process then absolutely,” Becerra said on “Fox News Sunday” when asked if Democrats would participate in the select committee. “But we don’t want to see reckless irresponsible handling of an affair that took the lives of four brave Americans.”

“We’ve always said that we’re ready to participate,” he added. “We have an oversight responsibility in Congress. What we don’t want to see is reckless and irresponsible use of taxpayer money to do these witch hunts.”

While Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) has appointed all seven Republican members to the committee that the House voted to establish last week, Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) left for the weekend without naming any Democrats to the panel. She told reporters the caucus is split on whether to participate, with some lawmakers urging a boycott on the grounds that the committee is politically motivated and unnecessary.

But on Sunday, Becerra said Democrats simply did not want to be “excluded” from key decisions.

“What we’re simply saying is 'make it a process where we can’t be excluded from the interviewing of witnesses, where we can’t be excluded when a decision is made to subpoena a witness,' ” he said. “'Make it so we’re all in the room when we’re reviewing the documents that are supposed to be evidence.' What we don’t want to be is excluded. We don’t want the American public to be shut out.”

Appearing on the same program, committee Chairman Trey Gowdy (R-S.C.) sought to dispel Democratic concerns they would be shut out.

“I don’t run my committees the way that Democrats are fearful of,” he said. “I want everyone to say it was fair, it was exhaustive, and we knew more than we did when it started.”

Gowdy said Republicans would be “punished” if they overplay their hand in the probe of an attack that killed four Americans at the U.S. consulate on Sept. 11, 2012. And he repeated his call for the GOP to forbid fundraising pitches off the Benghazi select committee.

He said that while he wanted to ask former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton why the U.S. remained in Benghazi despite warnings of deteriorating security, the committee was not out to get her.

“I have no friends to reward and no foes to punish,” Gowdy said.


TOPICS: Foreign Affairs; Government; News/Current Events
KEYWORDS: becerra; benghazi; gowdy; selectcommittee
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What we don’t want to see is reckless and irresponsible use of taxpayer money to do these witch hunts.”

Give us a break Becerra, the families of the four murdered Americans deserve answers that this select committee can provide and the only way you'll be "excluded" is if you boycott the committee.

1 posted on 05/11/2014 10:12:27 AM PDT by jazusamo
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To: jazusamo

How bout an 8-5 balance like Nancy Pelosi’s global warming commission was?


2 posted on 05/11/2014 10:16:13 AM PDT by cripplecreek (Remember the River Raisin.)
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To: jazusamo

The only way we’re going to achieve “fair, open and balance” is to keep the commie ‘RATs out of it.


3 posted on 05/11/2014 10:17:17 AM PDT by FlingWingFlyer (Obama's smidgens are coming home to roost.)
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To: jazusamo

Only carefully considered money, then ?


4 posted on 05/11/2014 10:17:25 AM PDT by Eric in the Ozarks (Rip it out by the roots.)
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To: jazusamo
What we don’t want to see is reckless and irresponsible use of taxpayer money to do these witch hunts.”

But they are perfectly fine with reckless and irresponsible use of taxpayer money to do those whitewash "investigations" like the internal reviews that forgot to interview key players.

5 posted on 05/11/2014 10:17:46 AM PDT by NonValueAdded (Operating out of weakness? Imagine if he was working from a position of strength!)
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To: jazusamo

Dems will participate in Benghazi panel if it will never come to a conclusion, hold anyone accountable, or tell the truth they mean.


6 posted on 05/11/2014 10:18:57 AM PDT by Darksheare (Try my coffee, first one's free..... Even robots will kill for it!)
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To: jazusamo
fair ,open, and balanced in DemoKKKrat terms means, they get to talk 95% of the time, they get 95% of the TV and Radio Air time, and they get to control who the witnesses are and who on the panel gets to ask the questions.
7 posted on 05/11/2014 10:21:37 AM PDT by SandRat (Duty - Honor - Country! What else needs said?)
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To: jazusamo

I would suggest that the committee should reflect the exact balance of committees that were used when Nancy Pelosi was Speaker. In fact that is exactly what Bohner has done. 41% for the minority party.

The last select committee under Pelosi’s rule was as follows:
In 2007, the House created a Select Committee on Energy Independence and Global Warming. As Speaker, Pelosi set up the structure. There were nine Democrats and six Republicans.


8 posted on 05/11/2014 10:23:56 AM PDT by cpdiii (Deckhand, Roughneck, Mud Man, Geologist, Pilot, Pharmacist THE CONSTITUTION IS WORTH DYING FOR!)
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To: jazusamo

I don’t think we needs a bunch of showboating DemocRATS involved in these hearings. They don’t know how to behave themselves.


9 posted on 05/11/2014 10:26:08 AM PDT by FlingWingFlyer (Obama's smidgens are coming home to roost.)
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To: jazusamo
A senior House Democrat said Sunday the party is ready to participate in the Benghazi select committee as long as the process is “fair, open and balanced.”

As long as the democrats get to decide what is fair, opened and balanced, right?

10 posted on 05/11/2014 10:26:31 AM PDT by VRW Conspirator ( 2+2 = V)
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To: SandRat

Amen...They don’t want the real truth, that’s how they arrive at “their” truth.


11 posted on 05/11/2014 10:27:15 AM PDT by jazusamo
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Please bump the Freepathon or click above and donate or become a monthly donor!

12 posted on 05/11/2014 10:30:35 AM PDT by jazusamo
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To: jazusamo
Fair, open and balanced?

Those words didn't apply at the time of the attack nor the aftermath in the following weeks.

13 posted on 05/11/2014 10:30:37 AM PDT by QT3.14
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To: cpdiii
There were nine Democrats and six Republicans.

That says it all about Pelosi and Dem hypocrisy.

14 posted on 05/11/2014 10:33:34 AM PDT by jazusamo
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To: NonValueAdded

Or the $555 billion down the Solyndra rat hole.


15 posted on 05/11/2014 10:35:09 AM PDT by anoldafvet (If you think the government is capable of taking care of you, just look at the indian tribes)
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To: jazusamo

And if we had a real man as speaker, he would simply say this:

If the Democrat’s refuse to appoint members to this committee I will Remove ALL DEMOCRATS from EVERY COMMITTEE IN THE HOUSE.


16 posted on 05/11/2014 10:36:27 AM PDT by eyeamok
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To: jazusamo

Too late Dems, you already opted out, boycott news blasted all over the news services, fergitboutit!


17 posted on 05/11/2014 10:37:42 AM PDT by PoloSec ( Believe the Gospel: how that Christ died for our sins, was buried and rose again)
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To: VRW Conspirator
The republicans will as usual bend over and take it, the truth will be buried. Meanwhile the rhinos, demorats, and the press will be after the tea party for being the cause of this coming circus.
18 posted on 05/11/2014 10:38:19 AM PDT by reefdiver (Be the Best you can be Whatever you Dream to be)
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To: cripplecreek

Seems about right.

Just saying.


19 posted on 05/11/2014 10:38:23 AM PDT by Cringing Negativism Network (http://www.census.gov/foreign-trade/balance/c5700.html#2013)
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To: jazusamo

I would suggest they put headless dummies in the dems committee seats....

I doubt anyone would notice the difference....


20 posted on 05/11/2014 10:38:29 AM PDT by Popman ("Resistance to Tyrants is Obedience to God" - Thomas Jefferson)
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