Hillary Clinton began her testimony with the House Select Committee on Benghazi Thursday with an emotional tribute to the four victims of the 2012 terror attack.
“I knew and admired Chris Stevens. He was one of our nation’s most accomplished diplomats,” Clinton said of the U.S. ambassador who was killed in the attack.
She said Libyans expressed deep sorrow in the wake of the raid on the U.S. diplomatic compound in Benghazi.
“Tens of thousands of Libyans poured into the streets of Benghazi. They held signs reading, ‘Thugs don’t represent Benghazi or Islam,'” Clinton said.
“Despite all the previous investigations and all the talk about partisan agendas, I’m here to honor those we lost,” Clinton said.
Clinton and her allies have repeatedly attempted to delegitimize the select committee’s investigation ahead of her appearance before it, claiming the panel is nothing more than “an arm of the Republican National Committee.”
“There have been 18 previous Accountability Review Boards,” Clinton noted. She cited the ARB extensively during her last appearance before Congress to testify about Benghazi in January, 2013.
In his opening statement, Chairman Trey Gowdy noted the members of the board were selected by Clinton’s office and that her chief of staff was granted access to a draft version of the ARB report, to which she suggested changes.
