Benghazi czar Rep. Trey Gowdy
There have been seven inquiries into the Benghazi attacks, so definitely what the nation needs is for another one to cost millions of dollars and stretch on for another year and a half. Republicans swear that their select committee, led by Rep. Trey Gowdy, isn't taking things slow in order to create a campaign issue to use against Hillary Clinton's possible presidential campaign, but ...
here's some context:
... concern is rising, both among Democrats and among those who note that most select committees tend to conclude far more quickly. For instance, the select bipartisan committee to investigate the response to Hurricane Katrina in 2005 took a year from its formation to complete a 361-page report. The bipartisan commission that examined the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, took a year and a half.
The Benghazi committee, which was formed in May, could take much longer, and leaders are budgeting as much as $3.3 million for the investigation this year alone, a sum greater than the entire budget of the House Intelligence Committee.
The Benghazi investigation needs more time than the Katrina response investigation? More time than the 9/11 investigation? Gowdy says the investigation will take so long because he's approaching it with such seriousness and care, but he also says this:
“I know it seems too logical for members of Congress, but the length of any investigation is dependent upon the level of compliance from others,” he said. “The documents are in many instances in the custody of others, and the schedules of potential witnesses are completely outside of our control.”
Ah, the level of compliance. In other words, "If I don't get answers I like, this will take longer and I will blame the Obama administration and probably Hillary Clinton personally."
