Rep. Trey Gowdy, who chairs the House Select Committee on Benghazi, said a fellow Republican lawmaker who criticized the work of the committee this week has no idea what he’s talking about.
Rep. Richard Hanna, R-N.Y., said in a radio interview that “there was a big part of this investigation that was designed to go after people and an individual, Hillary Clinton.”
But Gowdy fired back that Hanna doesn’t serve on the committee and hasn’t been briefed at all on its work.
“There are seven members of the Benghazi Committee who are intimately familiar with the work of the committee, the motives behind the work, and the results of that work,” Gowdy said. “Congressman Hanna is not one of them. The members of the committee do not discuss its work in conference, and Mr. Hanna has never asked for a briefing by the committee staff.”
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Gowdy said he spoke privately with Hanna about the committee’s work, but noted the New York Republican had not raised any concerns with the investigation. The chairman said he called Hanna Thursday morning to provide further “insights” into the probe.
“Among other things I noted is the fact the committee recently received emails from Ambassador Chris Stevens, but I also highlighted the fact that we have not rushed out to talk about them, but are instead evaluating them in the serious, fact-centric way evidence should be handled,” Gowdy said.
“Running investigations in a private, fact-centric way is unquestionably the right way to conduct a serious investigation,” he added. “The pitfall, of course, is that commentators, and sometimes even members of your own conference, offer thoughts on matters on which they are not familiar.”
The panel has faced increased scrutiny in recent weeks in the wake of controversial comments by House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy, who suggested the Benghazi committee played an active role in dragging down Clinton’s poll numbers.
The embattled committee is set to interview Huma Abedin, a former top State Department official, behind closed doors Friday amid speculation over the panel’s motives. Abedin is presently the highest-paid member of Clinton’s campaign team, and served as her deputy chief of staff at State.
