Free Republic
Browse · Search
News/Activism
Topics · Post Article

Skip to comments.

Gingrich: A “reliable Senator” tells me two networks have stand-down e-mails from Donilon’s office
Hotair ^ | 10/31/2012 | Ed Morrissey

Posted on 10/31/2012 9:46:44 AM PDT by SeekAndFind

Via the Daily Caller, Newt Gingrich thinks that the Benghazi scandal might blow wide open over the next two days, thanks to e-mails that he claims two networks now possess from the office of the National Security Advisor, Tom Donilon. According to a "reliable Senator" who tipped him to the information, Gingrich says that the e-mails came in response to the request to aid the consulate in Benghazi after the attack began, and asserted that the attack wasn't a terrorist action and therefore didn't need a response:

CLICK ABOVE LINK FOR THE VIDEO

“There is a rumor — I want to be clear, it’s a rumor — that at least two networks have emails from the National Security Adviser’s office telling a counterterrorism group to stand down,” Gingrich said. “But they were a group in real-time trying to mobilize marines and C-130s and the fighter aircraft, and they were told explicitly by the White House stand down and do nothing. This is not a terrorist action. If that is true, and I’ve been told this by a fairly reliable U.S. senator, if that is true and comes out, I think it raises enormous questions about the president’s role, and Tom Donilon, the National Security Adviser’s role, the Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta, who has taken it on his own shoulders, that he said don’t go. And that is, I think, very dubious, given that the president said he had instructions they are supposed to do everything they could to secure American personnel.”

That may not be the only scandal that Gingrich thinks will go prime time this week, either:

After noting that the rumor, if true, would have a substantial impact on the presidential election, Gingrich pointed to another possible “October surprise” in the coming days.

“The other big story, I think, that is going to break is on corruption and extraordinary waste in the solar power grants and direct involvement by the Obama White House, including the president, in the solar panel grants involving billions of dollars, and I suspect that’s going to break Wednesday and Thursday of this week,” Gingrich added.

Well, why won’t the “reliable Senator” speak up about the e-mails directly? I’d guess that the e-mails have been kept close to the vest at the White House end, but that someone on the other end in the intel community gave them to the “reliable Senator” either simultaneously as they were sent to the two networks, or the “reliable Senator” passed them along himself. It’s all about plausible deniability on the leak, especially since we won’t see any action in the Senate on Benghazi until after the election — not because it’s Democratic-controlled, but because they’re all back home with Congress out of session for the election.

Gingrich could be fishing, but specifying that two networks have the e-mails makes it sound like Gingrich got some inside dope. If these e-mails surface, it will create a huge headache for Barack Obama and the White House, which insisted that it didn’t deny assistance to Benghazi during the attack. Donilon works in the White House, directly answering to Obama himself. While Donilon would probably fall on his sword (or have an underling do so) if these e-mails say what Gingrich claims, there’s little chance that anyone will buy that Donilon or his staff took that decision on their own shoulders.

CNS News has another piece of the puzzle. At the time that the consulate in Benghazi came under attack, Obama and Leon Panetta were in a meeting together. What did they discuss? The White House refuses to say:

President Barack Obama met with Defense Secretary Leon Panetta and Vice President Joe Biden at the White House on Sept. 11, 2012 at 5:00 PM—just 55 minutes after the State Department notified the White House and the Pentagon that the U.S. diplomatic mission in Benghazi was under attack.

The meeting between Obama, Panetta and Biden had been scheduled before the attack took place, and the Department of Defense is not commenting now on whether the three men were aware when they met that day of the ongoing attack or whether Obama used that meeting to discuss with his defense secretary what should be done to defend the U.S. personnel who at that very moment were fighting for their lives in Benghazi.

“Secretary Panetta met with President Obama, as the White House-provided scheduled indicates,” Lt. Col. Todd Breasseale, a Defense Department spokesman, told CNSNews.com on Tuesday. “However, neither the content nor the subject of discussions between the President and his advisors are appropriate for disclosure.”

It’s impossible to imagine that the subject of the attack on the consulate didn’t come up in this discussion. It’s also impossible to imagine that Donilon would have made the decision to “stand down” on his own while both the President and the Secretary of Defense were meeting in the White House after being notified of the attack. It’s equally impossible to imagine that Panetta would have made that decision without checking with Obama during the meeting that we know they had an hour into the attack.

This leak, if it occurs, would show that the intel community has no intention of taking the fall for this debacle. That leaves a very small number of people who could have made that decision — and who need to start explaining themselves ASAP.


TOPICS: Breaking News; Foreign Affairs; News/Current Events; War on Terror
KEYWORDS: 20120911; benghazi; benghazicoverup; benghaziemails; benghazigate; benghaziobama; benghazitimeline; biden; donilon; gingrich; obama; obamabenghazi; obamamuteonbenghazi; panetta; shadowwars; threatmatrix
Navigation: use the links below to view more comments.
first previous 1-20 ... 41-6061-8081-100101-118 next last
To: tennmountainman

Nothing will happen till after the election. The elite have to much invested in this.


61 posted on 10/31/2012 12:39:31 PM PDT by redgolum ("God is dead" -- Nietzsche. "Nietzsche is dead" -- God.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 2 | View Replies]

To: Izzy Dunne

Captain Obvious please pick up the white courtesy phone.

Seems like Fox would have gone to air with this if it were one of the two.


62 posted on 10/31/2012 12:47:21 PM PDT by moehoward
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 13 | View Replies]

To: N. Theknow

I am mentally filing your remark for future reference. This could be a coincidence. Or it could be a key point. I’m inclined toward the latter.

How often was Zippy on/off the campaign trail at that time? And what was on his agenda that day that was important enough for him to be in the WH instead of campaigning?


63 posted on 10/31/2012 12:53:58 PM PDT by generally (Don't be stupid. We have politicians for that.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 10 | View Replies]

To: Izzy Dunne
I don't understand what you're saying because it's a sure bet that one of the two is not Fox.

It could be Fox and CNN (the first one to say there was a real time video, IIRC) since they'd be the "friendliest".

For something like this, you would want to be sure you have this nailed down every which way before you went with this. Maybe even waiting on the "Senator" to confirm before going public.

64 posted on 10/31/2012 12:54:04 PM PDT by eddie willers
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 13 | View Replies]

To: American Constitutionalist

Wouldn’t it be nice if the Republican House immediately subpoenaed the e-mails from the networks?


65 posted on 10/31/2012 12:54:52 PM PDT by Buchal ("Two wings of the same bird of prey . . .")
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 51 | View Replies]

To: max americana; Hotlanta Mike

JC was a horrible President, but the rescue attempt, even though it failed, is one thing I’ll give him credit for.


66 posted on 10/31/2012 12:55:53 PM PDT by generally (Don't be stupid. We have politicians for that.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 24 | View Replies]

To: SeekAndFind; All

On November 6th, it’s time...past time, that We the People:

STAND OBAMA DOWN!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UIWiBXpR0mc


67 posted on 10/31/2012 1:01:58 PM PDT by Jeff Head ( Freedom is not free, never has been, never will be (www.dragonsfuryseries.com))
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: popdonnelly; fatnotlazy

>>None of the rolling heads will belong to Obama.

>>It wouldn’t surprise me if Obama claimed he was “betrayed” by somebody. He’s the type.

Agree with both of you. I am hoping the dynamic will change on Nov 6. I am expecting some of 0bama’s lapdogs will start barking once they realize their job security is gone when he is out.

0bama has absolutely no loyalty to anyone. Not to the country and not to any individual. He’d sell his own grandmother (or murder her) if it would save him or advance his interests. I can’t see why lefties can’t see that. And I especially can’t see why anyone would trust him to look out for them.

Nov 7. I expect to see a change in tone from the fawning media and I expect to see a few WH insiders start singing.


68 posted on 10/31/2012 1:04:17 PM PDT by generally (Don't be stupid. We have politicians for that.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 31 | View Replies]

To: popdonnelly
You raise an interesting point. It wouldn’t surprise me if Obama claimed he was “betrayed” by somebody. He’s the type.

Hillary is already under the bus.

69 posted on 10/31/2012 1:08:34 PM PDT by showme_the_Glory (ILLEGAL: prohibited by law. ALIEN: Owing political allegiance to another country or government)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 31 | View Replies]

To: MichaelCorleone

>>I just don’t see the advantage of showing your hand now (assuming there is a hand to show).

It wouldn’t be my choice to show my hand now, but I am not a politician, not devious, and not privy to all of the info Gingrich may have.

Here are some advantages:

1. It makes the Dems sweat.

2. When they are sweating, they are more likely to make mistakes.

3. The Dems don’t know exactly what information has been compromised, so they don’t know what to cover up. They have to scramble to cover everything.

4. The act of scrambling and covering up could alert us to what is most important and where we should be looking. There must be some savvy patriots who are in a position to observe the reaction and take note.


70 posted on 10/31/2012 1:11:24 PM PDT by generally (Don't be stupid. We have politicians for that.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 39 | View Replies]

To: Hotlanta Mike

“America’s shame:

Bay of Pigs - JFK

Benghazi - BHO II”

to which you can add:

Elian Gonzalez ( under Clinton ) taken back to Cuba at gunpoint.

The Waco siege ( under Clinton ) killing dozens of children

The election of Barack Obama because of white guilt and affirmative action.

The destruction of the Black family by the democrat party.

The presstitution of the media - now an enemy of this country.

Political correctness resulting in Islamic jihadists, fascists, and communists in our own government.

The teachers’ unions and the dumbing of the populace.

The moral compass - broken.

The Entitlement Mentality which will render this country asunder forever.


71 posted on 10/31/2012 1:15:48 PM PDT by A'elian' nation (Political correctness does not legislate tolerance; it only organizes hatred. Jacques Barzun)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 9 | View Replies]

To: SeekAndFind

It seems counterintuitive to me to think one of them WOULDN’T be Fox. If you’re a whistleblower you want to make sure that it’s a network that would actually report the information and not bury it. AND you would want one with the most viewers possible.


72 posted on 10/31/2012 1:29:18 PM PDT by conservativebabe
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: Buchal
" Wouldn’t it be nice if the Republican House immediately subpoenaed the e-mails from the networks? "

Rep. Darrell Issa ? calling Darrell Issa ?
Pick up the courtesy phone.. please subpoena those new emails from those networks....
73 posted on 10/31/2012 1:29:49 PM PDT by American Constitutionalist
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 65 | View Replies]

To: A'elian' nation

Forgot to add in there : HOPE and CHANGE 2008.


74 posted on 10/31/2012 1:31:41 PM PDT by American Constitutionalist
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 71 | View Replies]

To: SeekAndFind

Why hasn’t the “reliable” Senator spoken up?

Reliable Senator, isn’t that a contradiction in terms?


75 posted on 10/31/2012 1:55:25 PM PDT by hattend (Firearms and ammunition...the only growing industries under the Obama regime.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: American Constitutionalist

If Glenn Beck gets the dope you KNOW he’ll hammer it. It seems lots of folks aren’t aware yet that THE BLAZE isn’t just online but is also a TV channel. It’s channel 212 on dish-——don’t yet know if it’s on other satellite systems.-——————————————————————————————————————I just heard Obamuzzie thank the “linesmen” working on Jersey recovery. They apparently work for the “electric corpse”.


76 posted on 10/31/2012 1:56:57 PM PDT by cherokee1 (skip the names---just kick the buttz)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 56 | View Replies]

To: Izzy Dunne
Borrowed Image:


77 posted on 10/31/2012 2:03:31 PM PDT by Ernest_at_the_Beach ((The Global Warming Hoax was a Criminal Act....where is Al Gore?))
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 13 | View Replies]

To: MplsSteve

See the graphic above.


78 posted on 10/31/2012 2:05:11 PM PDT by Ernest_at_the_Beach ((The Global Warming Hoax was a Criminal Act....where is Al Gore?))
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 6 | View Replies]

To: SeekAndFind

I want to see what he’s talking about also but I’m still waiting to hear WHY he said last week that obozo gave the order to send help to the compound in Benghazi and Panetta overruled him. I’ve lived with this like most of you here have and I’ve yet to see anything that he could have construed as such. One freeper seemed to think he was saying it to “smoke out” Panetta and maybe so??? Why would he have said it if he couldn’t back it up? obozo saying he’d immediately ordered that all embassy personnel were safe isn’t the same as ordering “help” for the consulate and annex.

Even at that, it would seem that his “order” to ensure the safety of everyone there failed miserably, didn’t it?


79 posted on 10/31/2012 2:10:30 PM PDT by Thank You Rush
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: SeekAndFind

This so-called “reliable Senator” has a duty to tell the world. Why count on the media?


80 posted on 10/31/2012 2:10:30 PM PDT by MeanGreen2008
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]


Navigation: use the links below to view more comments.
first previous 1-20 ... 41-6061-8081-100101-118 next last

Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.

Free Republic
Browse · Search
News/Activism
Topics · Post Article

FreeRepublic, LLC, PO BOX 9771, FRESNO, CA 93794
FreeRepublic.com is powered by software copyright 2000-2008 John Robinson