Thread: #BENGHAZIWATCH: It's been almost one year. Will anyone be held accountable for this

#BENGHAZIWATCH: It's been almost one year. Will anyone be held accountable for this giant security failure?

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BENGHAZI WATCH: Putting pressure on the political players


http://watchdogwire.com/blog/2013/08...tical-players/

FROM WATCHDOGWIRE

BENGHAZI WATCH: Putting pressure on the political players



Time to demand answers

August 23, 2013
by Editorial Staff

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**Join our Thunderclap! Sign up for our 9/11 Thunderclap to automatically send a message demanding answers on Benghazi.

BENGHAZI: Who are the players?
WHITE HOUSE LIST
THE THREE AMIGOS
OTHERS ON THE HILL
MEDIA

On September 11, 2013 it will have been one year since the tragic attack on the US Diplomatic Mission in Benghazi, Libya. The attack claimed the lives of Ambassador Chris Stephens and three other American citizens – marking the first time an Ambassador has been killed in action since the Carter Administration. It seems unbelievable that, almost 365 days later, American citizens are still waiting for information, answers, and justice. Only four people were ever disciplined for their actions surrounding the attack and not a single person lost their job. And Secretary of State John Kerry recently returned all four officials to work, without subjecting them to hearings regarding their role in the attack. Apparently, answers on Benghazi aren’t at the top of Kerry’s “to-do” list.
Will anyone be held accountable for this giant security failure? Have we learned anything from the ongoing investigation of the attack? The families of the victims deserve answers and American citizens deserve an explanation.
TAKE ACTION

This September, join us in telling the Obama Administration that we haven’t forgotten. Contact the major players in the Benghazi incident and tell them we’re still watching and waiting for the TRUTH. Demand an update in the ongoing investigation!
As Citizen Watchdogs, it is our job to hold elected officials accountable. To help you, we have compiled a comprehensive list of the key players in Benghazi. We encourage you to reach out to these people with your questions. If you need any help, please don’t hesitate to contact us at info@watchdogwire.com. It’s time for Washington to come clean about what really happened at Benghazi.
–
THE WHITE HOUSE
*Don’t forget to use #BenghaziWatch when you tweet at member of the Administration.
Who are they: President Obama
Why you care: President of the United States during Benghazi attack.
How to contact:: @BarackObama @whitehouse, Email: http://www.whitehouse.gov/contact/su...s-and-comments
Who are they: Ex-Secretary of State Hillary Clinton
Why you care: Secretary of State at time of Benghazi attack. She assumed some responsibility for attack, and testified before Congress in January
How to contact: @HillaryClinton, Email: http://hillaryclintonoffice.com/
Who are they: Secretary of State John Kerry
Why you care: Returned all “disciplined” employees back to work. Took fired officer off administrative leave.
How to contact: @StateDept, @JohnKerry
Who they are: Secretary of Defense Charles Hagel
How to contact: @DeptofDefense
Who are they: National Security Advisor Susan Rice
Why you care: Rice appeared on 5 Sunday talk shows in the aftermath of the attack, reading inaccurate talking points devoid of references to al-Qaeda or terrorism and blaming the “Innocence of Muslims” film. She testified before Congress in a closed session in November.
How to contact: @AmbassadorRice, Email: usa@un.int
Who they are: James Comey, Incoming FBI Director
Why you care: Comey is conducting an ongoing investigation of the Benghazi incident. He helped scrub terrorism references from Rice’s talking points.
How to contact: @FBIPressOffice
Who they are: Jay Carney, White House Press Secretary
How to contact: @PressSecretary
Who they are: Eric Holder, Attorney General
Why you care: Holder filed first charges related to attack this month.
How to contact: @TheJusticeDept, Email: AskDOJ@usdoj.gov
Who they are: Office of the Director of National Intelligence (James Clapper)
Why you care: “Mistakenly” cut out terrorism references from Rice talking points following the attack in Benghazi.
How to contact: @ODNIgov, Phone #: 703 733 8600
Who they are: Gen. Martin Dempsey, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs
Why you care: Dempsey testified before Congress in February. He only spoke to Obama once on 9/11/12, but has defended lack of military support for consulate.
How to contact: @Martin_Dempsey, Address: 9999 Joint Staff Pentagon, Washington, DC 20318
THE THREE AMIGOS
*Don’t forget to use #BenghaziWatch when you tweet with questions.
Who are they: Sen. John McCain (R-AZ), Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC), and Sen. Kelly Ayotte (R-NH)
Why you care: These three Senators have taken the lead on the Benghazi investigation and have been the most vocal. Together, they formed a temporary committee to investigate the attack.
How to contact:
@SenJohnMcCain, (202) 228 2862
@GrahamBlog, @LindseyGrahamSC, (202) 224 5972
@KellyAyotte, @AyotteNH, (202) 224 4952
OTHERS ON THE HILL
*Don’t forget to use #BenghaziWatch when you tweet at these elected officials.
Who are they : Rep. Darrell Issa (R-CA)
Why you care: Issa is the Chairman of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee. He Recently subpoenaed State Department docs, held hearings in May.
How to contact: @darrellissa, @CongressmanIssa, @GOPOversight, (202) 225 3906
Who are they: Rep. Elijah Cummings (D-MD)
Why you care: Cummings is a ranking Democrat on the Oversight Committee.
How to contact: @OversightDems, @ElijahCummings, (202) 225 4741
Who are they: Rep. Buck McKeon (R-CA)
Why you care: McKeon is Chairman of the House Armed Services Committee
How to contact: @BuckMcKeon, (202) 225 1956
Who are they: Rep. Adam Smith (D-WA)
Why you care: Smith is a ranking Democrat on Armed Services. He Called the Benghazi investigation a “witch hunt.”
How to contact: @Rep_Adam_Smith, @HASCDemocrats, (202) 225 8901
Who are they: Rep. Martha Roby (R-AL)
Why you care: Roby is Chairwoman of the House Armed Services Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations. She heard classified testimony last month from Col. George Bristol on the attack.
How to contact: @RepMarthaRoby, @TeamRoby, (202) 225 2901
Who are they: Rep. Ed Royce (R-CA)
Why you care: Royce is Chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee. He held hearings in January and July to examine State Department accountability.
How to contact: @RepEdRoyce, (202) 225 4111
Who are they: Rep. Pete Sessions (R-TX)
Why you care: Sessions allegedly stopped floor vote on Select Committee on Benghazi
How to contact: @PeteSessions
Who are they: Rep. Eliot Engel (D-NY)
Why you care: Engel is ranking Democrat on Foreign Affairs. He has vociferously defended Clinton’s actions.
How to contact: @RepEliotEngel, (202) 225 2464
Who are they: Rep. Mike Rogers (R-MI)
Why you care: Rogers is Chairman of the House Intelligence Committee. He is conducting an ongoing investigation and has held 8 hearings on Benghazi.
How to contact: @RepMikeRogers, (202) 225 4872
Who are they: Rep. Dutch Ruppersberger (D-MD)
Why you care: Ruppersberger is ranking Democrat on Intelligence. He defended Petraeus’ role, and later become one of first Dems to admit that Rice’s talking points were wrong.
How to contact: @Call_Me_Dutch, (202) 225 3061
Who are they: Rep. Pete King (R-NY)
Why you care: King is Chairman of the House Homeland Security Subcommittee on Counterterrorism and Intelligence. He has been one of the most vocal critics of the administration on Benghazi.
How to contact: @RepPeteKing, (202) 225 7896
Who they are: Rep. Trey Gowdy (R-SC), Rep. Jim Jordan (R-OH), Rep. Jason Chaffetz (R-UT), and Sen. Ron Johnson (R-WI)
Why you care: These four sent a letter, along with the Three Amigos and Issa, to FBI Director Comey last month.
How to contact:
@TGowdySC, (202) 225 6030
@Jim_Jordan, (202) 225 2676
@jasoninthehouse, (202) 225 7751
@SenRonJohnson, @Ron4Senate, (202) 224 5323
Who they are: Sen. Carl Levin (D-MI)
Why you care: Levin is the Chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee. He held hearings on Benghazi in February.
How to contact: @SenCarlLevin, (202) 224 6221
Who they are: Sen. James Inhofe (R-OK)
Why you care: Inhofe is ranking Republican on Armed Services. He has suggested Obama could be impeached over cover-up.
How to contact: @InhofePress, @jiminhofe, (202) 224 4721
Who they are: Sen. Bob Menendez (D-NJ)
Why you care: As Chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, Menendez held a hearing on Benghazi in January and heard Hillary Clinton’s testimony.
How to contact: @SenatorMenendez, @Menendez4NJ, (202) 224 4744
Who are they: Sen. Bob Corker (R-TN)
Why you care: Corker is ranking Republican on Foreign Relations. He has been one of the most aggressive Republicans in criticizing the administration’s response to Benghazi.
How to contact: @SenBobCorker, (202) 224 3344
Who are they: Sen. Tom Carper (D-DE)
Why you care: Carper is Chairman of the Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs. His committee published a report in December faulting the State Department for failing to respond to security threats.
How to contact: @SenatorCarper, (202) 224 2441
Who are they: Sen. Tom Coburn (R-OK)
Why you care: Ranking Republican on Homeland Security, Coburn accused the State Department of “glaring omissions” in the Benghazi documents it turned over.
How to contact: @TomCoburn, (202) 224 5754
Who are they: Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-CA)
Why you care: Feinstein is Chairwoman of the Senate Intelligence Committee. The White House has given her committee its emails relating to Benghazi.
How to contact: @SenFeinstein, (202) 224 3841
Who are they: Sen. Saxby Chambliss (R-GA)
Why you care: Ranking Republican on Intelligence, Saxby wants the White House’s emails on Benghazi to be declassified and made public.
How to contact: @SaxbyChambliss, (202) 224 3521
Who are they: Sen. Richard Burr (R-NC)
Why you care: Burr is the second-ranking Republican on Intelligence. He accused the CIA of refusing to give his committee intel on Benghazi.
How to contact: @SenatorBurr, (202) 224 3154
MEDIA
*Don’t forget to use #BenghaziWatch when you tweet at these members of the media.
When you’re done pressuring politicos, don’t forget to give a shout out to those few who have watched the investigation closely. Here at Watchdog Wire, we can be skeptical and even critical of the traditional media, but many MSM reporters have earned our respect pushing for answers regarding Benghazi. Take a moment and thank them for their continued coverage of the attack and dedication to informing the American public. These journalists are rock stars!
Who are they: The Quilliam Foundation
Why you care: The Quilliam Foundation is a counter-extremism group based in UK. They were the first to debunk the story that the Benghazi attack was related to “Innocence of Muslims” film and prove link to al-Qaeda.
How to contact: @QuilliamF, information@quilliamfoundation.org
Who they are: SITE Intelligence Group
Why you care: SITE (Search for International Terrorist Entities) is the terrorism research group that reported 4 days after the attack that it was in retaliation for the killing of al-Qaeda #2 al-Libi.
How to contact: @siteintelgroup, subscription@siteintelgroup.com, (301) 841 7740
Who they are: Foreign Policy Magazine
Why you care: In November, Foreign Policy Magazine published documents from just before the attack in which consulate personnel expressed security concerns.
How to contact: @ForeignPolicy, FB@ForeignPolicy.com. (202) 728 7300
Who they are: Paula Broadwell
Why you care: Petraeus’ biographer and mistress, Broadwell revealed that the consulate’s CIA annex was used to imprison Libyan militia members.
How to contact: @paulabroadwell
Who they are: Margaret Brennan
Why you care: A CBS State Department correspondent, Brennan broke the news that DNI, CIA, and FBI had scrubbed “al-Qaeda” and “terrorism” references from Susan Rice’s talking points
How to contact: @margbrennan
Who they are: Sharyl Attkisson
Why you care: A CBS investigative reporter, Attkisson has been one of the leading journalists covering the Benghazi investigations. Her computer was mysteriously hacked.
How to contact: @SharylAttkisson
Who they are: Stephen Hayes
Why you care: The Weekly Standard reporter, has broken several Benghazi stories including details on how much scrubbing of talking points the CIA did.
How to contact: @stephenfhayes
Who they are: Ed Henry
Why you care: As Fox News Senior White House correspondent, Henry has pressed Obama and Carney on Benghazi
How to contact: @edhenryTV
Who they are: Julie Pace
Why you care: AP White House Correspondent
How to contact: @jpaceDC
Who they are: Jon Karl
Why you care: Karl is ABC News’ Chief White House Correspondent. He reported this spring on White House’s changing and scrubbing of Benghazi talking points
How to contact: @jonkarl
Who they are: Jake Tapper
Why you care: CNN anchor and Washington Correspondent, Tapper broke the story earlier this month that dozens of CIA agents were on the ground during the attack.
How to contact: @jaketapper
Who they are: Arwa Damon
Why you care: As CNN Senior International Correspondent, Damon interviewed a Benghazi suspect whom federal investigators have not spoken to about his role in the attack.
How to contact: @arwaCNN
Who they are: Drew Griffin
Why you care: A CNN Investigative Reporter, Griffin was the lead reporter for CNN on Benghazi. His access to the White House has been restricted since he started working on the story.
How to contact: @DrewGriffinCNN
Who they are: Michael Birnbaum
Why you care: Washington Post Berlin correspondent. Birnbaum reported on scattered FBI documents found at attack site.
How to contact: @michaelbirnbaum
Who they are: Andrea Mitchell
Why you care: Mitchell is NBC’s Chief Foreign Correspondent and lead reporter for NBC on Benghazi. She has accused Republicans of politicizing the investigation.
How to contact: @mitchellreports
Who they are: David D. Kirkpatrick
Why you care: Kirkpatrick is New York Times Cairo’s bureau chief. He has investigated on the ground in Libya and was the first to identify Ansar al-Shariah as the local al-Qaeda group that organized attack.
How to contact: @ddknyt
*If you know of other political players who should be added to this list, or better ways to contact them, please email us at Info@WatchdogWire.com and we will update the list. Thank you.

http://watchdogwire.com/blog/2013/08...tical-players/

House panel accuses State Dept. of obstructionism in Benghazi investigation


By Carlo Muñoz - 09/15/13 06:39 PM ET

The State Department willfully obstructed a congressional investigation of the deadly attack on a U.S. diplomatic post in Benghazi, Libya, last year, according to the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee.



State Department officials routinely refused requests for documents on its investigation into the September 2012 attack, including interview transcripts and summaries of eyewitnesses to the attack, according to a committee report obtained by The Hill. Additionally, members of the independent Accountability Review Board (ARB) tasked with reviewing the events that led up to the Benghazi attack were rife with "actual and perceived conflicts of interest" with State, the committee's report adds.
"The State Department’s refusal to turn over ARB documents has made an independent evaluation of the ARB’s review difficult," according to the report.
To that end, ARB members failed to "record or transcribe the interviews it conducted" and refuses to hand over summaries of the interviews, it adds.
Republicans on the House Oversight panel, led by committee Chairman Darrell Issa (R-Calif.), have accused the ARB of seeking to protect former Secretary of State and possible 2016 presidential candidate Hillary Clinton and other top-ranking administration officials.
The attack by Islamic extremists in Benghazi ended with the deaths of four Americans, including U.S. Ambassador Christopher Stevens.
In August, Issa subpoenaed the State Department for documents related to the ARB's investigation.
“State Department tactics to delay and impede accountability have exhausted the Committee’s patience. Further subpoenas may also be necessary if the Department is not forthcoming on other requests," he said at the time.
Witnesses also told House investigators that top State Department officials tasked with selecting ARB members were also involved in managing the department's embassy and consulate security.
ARB staffers "consisted of State Department employees" who later returned to their positions inside the department at the conclusion of the board's investigation.
"Witnesses also testified that, in many instances, board members and staff had prior connections to the officials they evaluated," according to the report.
"The independence of the ARB is tainted by actual and perceived conflicts of interest," the report states.
Congressional investigators also found department leaders wholeheartedly accepted the board's findings, with the White House touting the ARB's findings as the comprehensive account of the Benghazi attack.
That acknowledgement came amid claims by the ARB's co-chairs, retired Ambassador Thomas Pickering and former Joint Chiefs Chairman Mike Mullen, that their investigation was compromised by the board's mandate.
Four State Department officials, Eric Boswell, Scott Bultrowicz, Charlene Lamb and Raymond Maxwell, were placed on administrative leave, due to the board's recommendations.
The officials were later reinstated by Secretary of State John Kerry, who replaced Clinton as the administration's top diplomat earlier this year.
The Obama administration initially claimed the Benghazi attack was the result of an anti-American protest. Only weeks later did the Obama administration acknowledge the strike was a planned, coordinated attack by Islamic extremist groups in the country.
— Julian Pecquet contributed to this report.

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