Obama has explaining to do on Benghazi

[Draggingtree]

New State Dept. Spokesperson Gets Slammed Over Benghazi

 

May 16, 2013 | Posted by Warner Todd Huston

 

It has been 8 months since the terrorist attacks on our facilities in Benghazi, Libya, attacks that ended up killing four Americans including our ambassador to Libya, Christopher Stevens. Still we haven’t had a concrete explanation about this incident and new State Department spokesperson Jen Psaki didn’t do anything to alleviate that state of affairs as reporters peppered her with uncomfortable questions in her May 13 press briefing.

 

One exchange during the briefing between Psaki and a reporter named Brad (perhaps the AP’s Brad Klapper) was particularly sharp.

 

At one point, Psaki avers that the State Department was not privy to the 12-times re-written Benghazi talking points until after all the re-writes were done. The reporter was a bit incredulous at that noting that there is no proof for her blithe claim because her office is refusing to release the records to prove it.

 

What was Psaki’s reply? “All right. Well, you’ll have to take my word for it…”

Department of State Daily Press Briefing, May 13, 2013

QUESTION:

So who – no, no, no. Who is responsible for this? What does your talking points say today?

http://wizbangblog.com/2013/05/16/new-state-dept-spokesperson-gets-slammed-over-benghazi/

[Rheo]

Officials on Benghazi: "We made mistakes, but without malice"

Sharyl Attkisson /CBS News/ May 17, 2013, 10:51 AM

 

Obama administration officials who were in key positions on Sept. 11, 2012 acknowledge that a range of mistakes were made the night of the attacks on the U.S. missions in Benghazi, and in messaging to Congress and the public in the aftermath.

 

The officials spoke to CBS News in a series of interviews and communications under the condition of anonymity so that they could be more frank in their assessments. They do not all agree on the list of mistakes and it's important to note that they universally claim that any errors or missteps did not cost lives and reflect "incompetence rather than malice or cover up." Nonetheless, in the eight months since the attacks, this is the most sweeping and detailed discussion by key players of what might have been done differently.

 

"We're portrayed by Republicans as either being lying or idiots," said one Obama administration official who was part of the Benghazi response. "It's actually closer to us being idiots."

[Rheo]

From FB

Sharyl Attkisson

CBS: The House Oversight Committee subpoenas the Benghazi Accountability Review Board's Pickering for a transcribed interview prior to a public hearing after Republicans say Pickering declined to give the interview voluntarily. He's required to appear on Thurs. May 23 10am.

[Casino67]

Why is it that some days I just want to start cussing after turning on TV or puter?

 

No one is this administration has any idea what it is to tell the truth.

[Rheo]

Why is it that some days I just want to start cussing after turning on TV or puter?

 

No one is this administration has any idea what it is to tell the truth.

You aren't alone.

The admin are dems. They don't know how to tell the truth.

[Valin]

Officials on Benghazi: "We made mistakes, but without malice"

Sharyl Attkisson

5/17/13

 

Obama administration officials who were in key positions on Sept. 11, 2012, acknowledge that a range of mistakes were made the night of the attacks on the U.S. missions in Benghazi, and in messaging to Congress and the public in the aftermath.

 

The officials spoke to CBS News in a series of interviews and communications under the condition of anonymity so that they could be more frank in their assessments. They do not all agree on the list of mistakes and it's important to note that they universally claim that any errors or missteps did not cost lives and reflect "incompetence rather than malice or cover up." Nonetheless, in the eight months since the attacks, this is the most sweeping and detailed discussion by key players of what might have been done differently.

 

"We're portrayed by Republicans as either being lying or idiots," said one Obama administration official who was part of the Benghazi response. "It's actually closer to us being idiots."

 

(Snip)

 

The list of mea culpas by Obama administration officials involved in the Benghazi response and aftermath include: standing down the counterterrorism Foreign Emergency Support Team, failing to convene the Counterterrorism Security Group, failing to release the disputed Benghazi "talking points" when Congress asked for them, and using the word "spontaneous" while avoiding the word "terrorism."

 

(Snip)

 

Mistakes but not malice?

 

Several Obama administration officials said not using the word "terrorism" early on was not part of a conspiracy, but an "abundance of caution." They reiterate that any misjudgments or mistakes in the Benghazi response and aftermath would not have changed the outcome.

 

Critics nonetheless see a pattern that points to a cover up. "Incompetence and malice are not mutually exclusive," said Graham. "The storyline they chose to convey for a couple of weeks was politically the most beneficial one that could be told about Benghazi, and it's no accident that story line was chosen."

 

Rep. Jason Chaffetz, R-Utah, said, "If not for Congress, they would still lead us to believe it was a video gone awry."

 

 

Vid at Link

[Geee]

BAUCUS: 'A LOT MORE COMING OUT' ON IRS SCANDAL

 

Sen. Max Baucus, Chair of the Senate Finance Committee said on Friday that he expects "a lot more" information about the growing political scandal at the IRS to come out over the coming days. The powerful Democrat, who is retiring at the end of next year, is holding a hearing on the scandal on Tuesday. Baucus warns that the crisis at the IRS is "broader than the current focus."

"I have a hunch that a lot more is going to come out, frankly," Baucus told Bloomberg News. "It's broader than the current focus. And I think it's important that we have the hearings, and I think that will encourage other information to come out that has not yet come out. I suspect that we will learn more in the next several days, maybe the next couple three weeks which adds more context to all of this."

 

http://www.breitbart.com/Big-Government/2013/05/17/baucus-alot-more-coming-out-on-irs-scandal

[Valin]

BAUCUS: 'A LOT MORE COMING OUT' ON IRS SCANDAL

 

 

 

As the old saying goes...Watch This Space.

[Valin]

Very Good Piece, looking at how the You Tube Video became so important.

 

What About the Video?

The Benghazi email dump leaves some big questions unanswered

STEPHEN F. HAYES

May 27, 2013

 

So, what about the video? The White House last week released nearly 100 pages of emails detailing some of the discussions within the Obama administration that resulted in major revisions to talking points about the Benghazi attacks drafted by the Central Intelligence Agency.

 

From the beginning, there have been two big questions about the administration’s deceptive spin on Benghazi: How were the talking points whittled down to virtually nothing from the CIA’s original draft? And how did a previously obscure YouTube video gain such prominence in the administration’s explanation of what happened in Benghazi?

 

The emails fill in at least some of the details about the talking points. They also leave in ruins administration claims that White House and State Department officials were mere bystanders in the process. But how, exactly, the video became so prominent in the administration’s public rhetoric remains something of a mystery.

 

(Snip)

[Valin]

GREAT NEWS!!!

 

For only $478,947,711,160 We Can Build It!...sort of

[NCTexan]

"Deeply concerned" comes in second to "Deeply troubled" as the most insincere (and overused) of DEM canned comments.

 

 

When Harry uses the line... he always puts on an expression that looks like his Depends just blew out.

[Valin]

Darrell Issa subpoenas Thomas Pickering for taped interview

GINGER GIBSON

5/17/13

 

Rep. Darrell Issa issued a subpoena Friday for Ambassador Thomas Pickering to sit for a taped interview, but not to testify publicly before the full House Oversight Committee.

On Wednesday, Chairman Issa (R-Calif.) responded to a letter from Pickering volunteering to appear before the committee, saying that he needed to submit to a taped interview before he could testify.

Democratic Ranking Member Rep. Elijah Cummings (Md.) quickly blasted the subpoena as “extreme Republican overreach.”

 

It’s the latest in a back-and-forth about witnesses testifying before Issa’s committee in a series of hearings on Benghazi.

Pickering and and Admiral Michael Mullen have requested the ability to respond publicly to criticism of a review the two retired officials conducted of the Benghazi attacks. Cummings has called on Issa to let the pair testify to defend their names.

But Issa is insisting that Republicans and Democratic staffers get a pre-testimony crack at the witnesses by interviewing them behind closed doors first, saying staff and members have only had access to an unclassified version of the Accountability Review Board report on Benghazi.

 

“While I am very much committed to having you testify publicly and appreciate your newfound willingness to do so, I was disappointed that you are attempting to limit the Committee’s understanding of the Accountability Review Board by refusing to participate in a voluntary transcribed interview prior to testifying publicly,” Issa said in a letter to Pickering.

The subpoena compels Pickering to sit for an interview in room 2157 of the Rayburn office building at 10 a.m. on May 23rd.

Cummings called the subpoena to appear in a closed-door interview an attempt by Issa to silence the response from someone shooting down the chairman’s criticism of the attacks.

(Snip)

 

Also Vid here

 

Trey Gowdy on why they subpoenaed Pickering and what he wants to know

 

 

[nickydog]

Too bad, Elijah. The process proceeds, like it or not.

[Draggingtree]

Obama's thuggish creation and corrupt defense of his "official truth" will anger, disgust - and frighten - all Americans

 

Obama and the “Official Truth”

 

By Caroline Glick (Bio and Archives) Friday, May 17, 2013

Nakoula Basseley Nakoula has been sitting in a US federal prison in Texas since his photographed midnight arrest by half a dozen deputy sheriffs at his home in California for violating the terms of his parole. As many reporters have noted, the parole violation in question would not generally lead to anything more than a court hearing.

 

But in Nakoula’s case, it led to a year in a federal penitentiary. Because he wasn’t really arrested for violating the terms of his parole.

 

Nakoula was arrested for producing an anti-Islam film that the Obama administration was falsely blaming for the al-Qaida assault on the US Consulate in Benghazi and the brutal murder of US ambassador Chris Stevens and three other Americans on September 11, 2012. Obama and his associates falsely blamed Nakoula’s film - and scapegoated Nakoula - for inciting the al-Qaida attack in Benghazi because they

http://canadafreepress.com/index.php/article/55275

[Draggingtree]

Issa Turns Up the Heat on Benghazi Investigation…Subpoenas Pickering

Posted on May 18, 2013 by Tim Brown

House Oversight Committee Chairman Darrell Issa (R-CA) formally demanded that retired Ambassador Thomas Pickering, the co-author of the report that blasted the State Department over Benghazi, but failed to interview then Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, be deposed by his committee this coming Thursday, May 23, 2013.

In Issa’s letter to Pickering he wrote, “I received your response to my request. While I am very much committed to having you testify publicly and appreciate your newfound willingness to do so, I was disappointed that you are http://dcclothesline.com/2013/05/18/issa-turns-up-the-heat-on-benghazi-investigation-subpoenas-pickering/

[Valin]

[SrWoodchuck]

[Draggingtree]

[Valin]

About those “doctored” Benghazi e-mails…

Jazz Shaw

5/19/13

 

I understand that the posts today have focused a lot on the political talk show circuit, and some of the material being covered has some cross-over elements to it, so I apologize for that. But this one really does deserve a hearing of its own, particularly given the new “gotcha” talking points being foisted on the Left. We’re seeing a story being pushed by administration supporters, up to and including Democratic congressmen, claiming that the Benghazi e-mails were intentionally altered by the GOP for political purposes.

 

When you run into these smug, told-ya-so defenders of the White House, you should calmly point them to this article from Jonathan Strong at National Review, where this claim is firmly debunked. First, he starts out with the prime example of this talking point delivered (again) from Dan Pfeiffer on this morning’s round of talk shows.

 

Here’s the evidence that proves the Republicans are playing politics with this: They received these emails months ago, didn’t say a word about it, didn’t complain, confirmed the CIA director . . . right after that. And then last week, a Republican source provided to Jon Karl of ABC News a doctored version of the White House email that started this entire fury. After 25,000 pieces of paper that were provided to Congress, they have to doctor an email to make political hay, you know they’re getting desperate here.

 

That certainly does look like a lethal blow to critics of the administration… were it only true. As Jonathan points out, the history of these events is quite different than what’s being portrayed here. He breaks it down into four key points, of which two will be of particular interest.

 

(Snip)

[Valin]

 

No one in the White house or DC office of the IRS, that's for sure.

[Draggingtree]

The New Yorker
May 18, 2013
Obama Denies Role in Government
Posted by Andy Borowitz

WASHINGTON (The Borowitz Report)—President Obama used his weekly radio address on Saturday to reassure the American people that he has “played no role whatsoever” in the U.S. government over the past four years.

“Right now, many of you are angry at the government, and no one is angrier than I am,” he said. “Quite frankly, I am glad that I have had no involvement in such an organization.”

The President’s outrage only increased, he said, when he “recently became aware of a part of that government called the Department of Justice.”
“The more I learn about the activities of these individuals,
http://www.newyorker.com/online/blogs/borowitzreport/2013/05/obama-denies-role-in-government.html

[Geee]

 

Benghazi: Where Was President Waldo During Attack?

Benghazigate: The lack of a timeline for what the commander-in-chief was doing the night terrorists murdered our ambassador to Libya and three others is an "irrelevant fact," according to a key White House aide.

Playing the role Sunday of former U.N. Ambassador Susan Rice, who last Sept. 16 went on all five talk shows to parrot the administration line that Benghazi was provoked by a video, was White House senior adviser Dan Pfeiffer.

Following in Rice's footsteps, he announced that the details of where President Obama was and what he was doing that fateful night were an "irrelevant fact."

"Fox News Sunday" host Chris Wallace tried to pin down why we have pictures of Obama sitting in the Situation Room the night Osama bin Laden was killed, but on the night Ambassador Christopher Stevens and three other Americans were killed we don't have so much as an artist's sketch.

"The president was kept up to date on this as it was happening throughout the entire night, from the moment it started till the end," Pfeiffer said.

http://news.investors.com/ibd-editorials/052013-656870-where-was-obama-during-benghazi-attack.htm

[Geee]

 

Ex-Diplomats Report New Benghazi Whistleblowers with Info Devastating to Clinton and Obama

More whistleblowers will emerge shortly in the escalating Benghazi scandal, according to two former U.S. diplomats who spoke with PJ Media Monday afternoon.

These whistleblowers, colleagues of the former diplomats, are currently securing legal counsel because they work in areas not fully protected by the Whistleblower law.

According to the diplomats, what these whistleblowers will say will be at least as explosive as what we have already learned about the scandal, including details about what really transpired in Benghazi that are potentially devastating to both Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton.

The former diplomats inform PJM the new revelations concentrate in two areas — what Ambassador Chris Stevens was actually doing in Benghazi and the pressure put on General Carter Ham, then in command of U.S. Africa Command (AFRICOM) and therefore responsible for Libya, not to act to protect jeopardized U.S. personnel.

Stevens’ mission in Benghazi, they will say, was to buy back Stinger missiles from al-Qaeda groups issued to them by the State Department, not by the CIA. Such a mission would usually be a CIA effort, but the intelligence agency had opposed the idea because of the high risk involved in arming “insurgents” with powerful weapons that endanger civilian aircraft.

Hillary Clinton still wanted to proceed because, in part, as one of the diplomats said, she wanted “to overthrow Gaddafi on the cheap.”

http://pjmedia.com/rogerlsimon/2013/05/21/pjm-exclusive-ex-diplomats-report-new-benghazi-whistleblowers-with-info-devastating-to-clinton-and-obama/

[Draggingtree]

The Washington Examiner

Byron York: Lawmakers dig into life-and-death issues of Benghazi

May 20, 2013 | 9:00 pm

Byron York Chief Political Correspondent

 

Until now, most press coverage of the Benghazi matter has focused on the administration's misleading talking points explaining the attack on the U.S. facility in Libya. But just beneath the surface is the investigation into a potentially more explosive part of the Benghazi story: Whether the U.S. government did everything it could to save Americans whose lives were at risk in the chaotic hours of Sept. 11, 2012.

 

There were several hours between the first attack in Benghazi, which killed two Americans, including Ambassador Christopher Stevens, and a second attack, which left two more dead. Is there something the U.S. military could have done to rescue those last two and others who were badly wounded?

 

On Tuesday members of the House Armed Services Committee will question Pentagon officials in a classified session

http://washingtonexaminer.com/byron-york-lawmakers-dig-into-life-and-death-issues-of-benghazi/article/2530134