Tom Cohen of CNN writes Benghazi -- government cover-up or right-wing conspiracy theory? This story tells us that House Oversight Committee Chairmen Darrell Issa has issued a subpoena ordering Secretary of State John Kerry to testify before Issa's Benghazi committee investigation, just before House Speaker John Boehner announced a special new House select committee will be formed to take the Benghazi investigation to a new level.
On Friday, House Oversight Committee Chairman Darrell Issa announced that he subpoenaed Secretary of State John Kerry to testify at a May 21 hearing, alleging that the State Department failed to comply with an earlier subpoena for documents. Later, House Speaker John Boehner announced a special congressional committee led by a Republican colleague would investigate the matter.
Yesterday, Issa compared the Obama administration's response to his inquiry to the greatest "violation of any reasonable transparency or historic precedent at least since Richard Milhous Nixon."
One reason Republicans are upset because a memo that has become known as the Rhodes memo was not included in the original subpoena response.
White House spokesman Jay Carney countered accusing Republicans of trying to "reap political benefit" with "conspiracy theories."
"What we have seen since hours after the attack, beginning with a statement by the Republican nominee for president, is an attempt by Republicans to politicize a tragedy, and that continues today," Carney told reporters Thursday, adding that "what hasn't changed has been the effort by Republicans to ... claim a conspiracy when they haven't been able to find one."
Cohen tells us that Secretary of State Hillary Clinton created an Accountability Review Board to investigate the incident. They found no wrong doing and made 29 recommendations all of which were accepted and implemented.
Carney argued that the Rhodes email referred to the broader topic of protests throughout the Muslim world, rather than the specific Benghazi attack. ...
Meanwhile, a State Department spokeswoman took issue with Issa's latest subpoena, telling reporters it was a political stunt. ... Noting Kerry was scheduled to be in Mexico on the date of the hearing in the subpoena, Marie Harf said Issa's committee "would have known if they reached out to us instead of issuing a subpoena."
Having a Committee Chairmen of the House of Representatives issue a subpoena to a Secretary of State for testimony with asking polite first. Especially after that Secretary has been fully cooperative up to that point. Has this ever happened before? Such actions certainly were not necessary in this case. Chairmen Issa is being deliberately uncivil in order to grandstand to his base.
7:43 PM PT: Jeremy Peters of he New York Times writes New Inquiry Sought on Benghazi Attack
In a move that conservatives had long pressured him to make, Speaker John A. Boehner announced that he would call a vote to establish a select committee to examine whether the Obama administration misled Congress about how it responded to the attack and its aftermath. With Republicans in the majority, Mr. Boehner is expected to succeed. ...
“What else about Benghazi is the Obama administration still hiding from the American people?” Mr. Boehner asked. “Four Americans died at the hands of terrorists nearly 20 months ago, and we are still missing answers, accountability and justice. It’s time that change.”
The convening of a special committee is likely to produce a drawn-out and contentious back and forth between the White House and congressional Republicans — fueled by attention from some conservative news media outlets that say others are under-covering the issue. Given the timing of Mr. Boehner’s announcement, about six months before the midterm elections, a summer and fall with numerous hearings and the prospect of more administration officials being called before Congress seems certain.