Benghazi report finds Obama at fault over deadly 2012 attack

Republicans on the House Benghazi Committee have faulted the Obama administration Tuesday in a long-awaited report on the deadly 2012 attacks in Benghazi, Libya.

The panel’s chairman, Rep. Trey Gowdy of South Carolina, and other Republicans accuse the Obama administration of stonewalling important documents and witnesses in the 800-page document.

Rep. Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, who helped write the Republican report, tells CNN that “too little effort was made to protect” ambassador Chris Stevens and the others who were killed. “We didn’t move Heaven and Earth to get help to the people who were fighting for their lives,” he said.

Democrats say the panel’s primary goal is to undermine Hillary Clinton’s presidential bid.

Clinton was secretary of state during the attacks, which killed four Americans, including US Ambassador Chris Stevens, in two assaults at the diplomatic facility and CIA annex.

Democrats released a report Monday saying that while the State Department’s security measures in Benghazi the night of September 11, 2012, were “woefully inadequate,” Clinton never personally turned down a request for additional security.

On Tuesday, the panel’s Democrats denounced the Republicans’ report as “a conspiracy theory on steroids — bringing back long-debunked allegations with no credible evidence whatsoever.”

The State Department also issues a statement Tuesday, saying the “essential facts” of the attacks “have been known for some time,” and have been the subject of numerous reviews, including one by an independent review board.

— AP