Now that we have Benghazi report No. 8 in hand, it’s clear that, despite Republican fuming and speculating, the allegations made over the years are utterly unfounded. There never was a "stand down order" from Hillary—or anyone else.
House Benghazi Committee Republicans: No new evidence that Clinton, secretary of state at the time of the attack, is to blame for the facility's vulnerability or the U.S. response to the attacks.
House Benghazi Committee Democrats: Clinton never personally denied U.S. diplomats' requests for more security in Benghazi.
Senate Intelligence Committee: Does not mention her.
And when it comes to those who lost their lives in Benghazi, we have a much more personal response.
Dr. Anne Stevens, the sister of Ambassador Chris Stevens, has served as a family spokesperson since his death. …
“It is clear, in hindsight, that the facility was not sufficiently protected by the State Department and the Defense Department. But what was the underlying cause? Perhaps if Congress had provided a budget to increase security for all missions around the world, then some of the requests for more security in Libya would have been granted. Certainly the State Department is underbudgeted.”
“I do not blame Hillary Clinton or Leon Panetta. They were balancing security efforts at embassies and missions around the world. And their staffs were doing their best to provide what they could with the resources they had.“
The fact that Hillary Clinton was not to blame hasn’t stopped the NRA from creating an ad blaming Hillary for the deaths. It’s what they do.
One more quote from Chris Steven’s sister:
What did you think of Secretary Clinton’s conduct on Benghazi?
She has taken full responsibility, being head of the State Department, for what occurred. She took measures to respond to the review board’s recommendations. She established programs for a better security system. But it is never going to be perfect. Part of being a diplomat is being out in the community. We all recognize that there’s a risk in serving in a dangerous environment. Chris thought that was very important, and he probably would have done it again. I don’t see any usefulness in continuing to criticize her. It is very unjust.