House Speaker John Boehner on Wednesday defended a plan to release a potentially critical report about Hillary Clinton just before the 2016 presidential elections, saying Clinton and the Obama administration have blocked access to information.
The spokesman for a special committee examining the cause and response to the 2012 terrorist attacks on the U.S. consulate in Benghazi, Libya, confirmed that the full Benghazi report may not be ready until 2016 thanks to factors outside of the panel’s control, including cooperation from the Obama Administration.
The timing could be potentially damaging to Clinton, who was serving as secretary of state at the time of the attacks and whose role in preventing and responding to it has been questioned and criticized.
Boehner told reporters that both Clinton and Obama have no one to blame but themselves for the timing.
“They could clean this up a whole lot quicker if the administration and Secretary Clinton were in a position to cooperate with the committee and turn over the kind of information we’ve been seeking for some time,” The Ohio Republican said. “The administration has made it virtually impossible to get the facts surrounding Benghazi.”
Boehner praised the Benghazi panel and its chairman, Rep. Trey Gowdy, R-S.C., and said he is staying involved in the panel’s progress.
“I see the chairman from time to time to get a little update about how they are doing,” Boehner said.
Republican leaders on Tuesday touted their oversight panels, including the Benghazi committee, which they credited with uncovering Clinton’s personal email server and a trove of new data.
“I think people in this country want to see a check and balance against the Obama administration and we will continue to take that role seriously in the future,” Majority Whip Steve Scalise, R-La., said.
The ranking member on the Benghazi panel, Rep Elijah Cummings criticized the length of the Benghazi investigation, saying it is on track to last longer than the probe into Watergate and the assassination of president John F. Kennedy.
“Does anybody even remember anymore that we were supposed to be investigating the attacks in Benghazi?” the Maryland Democrat said. “With the Republicans’ obsessive focus on Hillary Clinton, and their now stated intention to drag out this political charade until just months before the 2016 election, the select committee no longer bears any resemblance to its original purpose.”
This story was first published at 11:11 a.m and has been updated.
