In case you missed it, the man charged by his fellow House Republicans with the task of something something Benghazi has confessed that a longtime Republican conspiracy theory about something something Benghazi is, in fact, bunk.
[Benghazi panel chair Rep. Trey Gowdy] said on Tuesday that military reinforcements could not have reached the besieged diplomatic outpost in time to prevent the killings of four Americans, including Ambassador J. Christopher Stevens.
[Gowdy] told Fox News: “Whether or not they could have gotten there in time, I don’t think there’s any issue with respect to that. They couldn’t. The next question is: Why could you not? Why were you not positioned to do it?”
This may sound uncontroversial to most readers of this site, but in the various danker corners of the Republican universe (including in past pronouncements by some of Gowdy's fellow Republican investigators), they've long been committed to the conspiracy theory that the military was told to "stand down" during the Benghazi attacks, because Reasons. Oh, the military could have swooped in to save the day, they say, if only they had not been prevented from doing that by Col. Mustard, in the Study, with the Candlestick.
So Gowdy's categorical dismissal of that theory is likely to cause some indigestion in conspiracy theorist circles—again, including from a few of Gowdy's own House buddies. Oh well. It only took four years or so to pry that confession out of him, so who knows—in another eight or 10 maybe he'll be ready to rule out the involvement of smurfs, gremlins, and the Underpants Gnomes.
Or not. Mr. Benghazi also has been hinting that perhaps our long national Benghazi investigation might coincidentally be winding down soonish. You know, for reasons.
Mr. Gowdy said previously that this issue might end up being the most surprising part of the House committee’s final report, which he promised would be released “sooner rather than later.”
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Golly, it would be something if Gowdy just happened to complete his completely serious and super-important work not only this year, but right before these next November elections. What a remarkable coincidence that would be. And it'd be especially strange because among Democrats, there's been this recurring conspiracy theory that Rep. Trey Gowdy was a bullshit-peddling tragedy whore whose only mission in "investigating" Benghazi for the umpity-third time was to try to drag out the supposed controversy long enough to use it, Swift Boat style, as election-year paranoia fodder.
What a silly thought, obviously. Oh, we watchers of politics with our silly, cynical theories. And here Trey Gowdy is only trying to get to the bottom of, you know, whatever he says he's getting to the bottom of this week.