Clinton comes out stronger in the Benghazi enquiry
Hillary Clinton, the Democratic presidential-candidate and former Secretary of State testified before the House Select Committee on Benghazi for 11 hours. This was the 8th Congressional investigation of the attack that took place in 2012. Clinton slammed the 'partisan' nature of the Benghazi enquiry and said that people should rise above politics. She further said that she was the most affected by the attack.
The Benghazi attack on 11 September 2012 was an assault on the American diplomatic compound in Benghazi in Libya. U.S. Ambassador- J Christopher Stevens and Sean Smith- U.S. Foreign Service Information Management Officer were killed during the attack. Within a few hours, a second assault was carried out on a different compound which killed Glen Doherty and Tyrone S Woods, working with the CIA.
In the aftermath of the attack, State Department was criticized for the handling of the Benghazi event. Reports showed that the department had "clear warning signs" of a lapsed security situation ahead of the attack. Further, Congress had failed to provide sufficient funds, "forcing the department to scramble to cover security costs." The investigation's conclusions led to the resignation of four State Department officials.
On 23 January 2013, Hillary Clinton, Secretary of State appeared before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. She was asked to defend her department's "handling of the flow of information concerning the cause of the deadly attack". Hillary Clinton took full responsibility for the Benghazi attack and defended her actions before the Congress, saying it was 'personal' for her.
On 15 January 2015, the U.S. Senate Select Committee on Intelligence delivered their bipartisan report on the terrorist attacks. The report contended that the attack was preventable as there had been no protests prior to the attack. It claimed that the terrorists who had carried out the attacks were linked to the Al-Qaeda network. It also highlighted lapses in security by the State Department.
Other than the US Senate Select Committee investigation, several other probes like the FBI investigation, Five House Committees enquiry, and the Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs investigation were carried out in the Benghazi attack case.
On 22 May 2015, it was revealed that Hillary Clinton, former Secretary of State had "received emails from her top aides warning about dangerous security conditions in Benghazi". The private emails were part of "a batch of about 300 emails" released through WikiLeaks disclosure. They also shed light on the Obama government's initial assessments that the attack was a result of an anti-Islamic video.
The hearing has given wind to Hillary's wings with donations soaring in following the hearing. "In all, she now has more than 500,000 donors, 90% of them giving $100 or less."
