Members of the House Select Committee on Benghazi received thousands of documents Tuesday that involve key aides from Hillary Clinton’s time as secretary of state.
A Democratic committee spokesman said the State Department delivered more than 3,600 documents, including emails sent by Ambassador Susan Rice, chief of staff Cheryl Mills and her deputy Jake Sullivan.
The production of Benghazi-related records came just two days after Chairman Trey Gowdy threatened to summon Secretary of State John Kerry over his agency’s failure to hand over documents related to 10 top Clinton staffers.
Congressional investigators issued a subpoena in March for records created by the 10 aides over a period of two years.
In a letter to members of the committee, State Department officials refuted claims that the agency had withheld documents on all but one of the aides in question, citing specific document numbers that contained records for each staff member.
The 3,600 new documents relate to “the security of, and attacks on, the State Department facility in Benghazi; the United States’ diplomatic presence in Libya, including Benghazi, and U.S. weapons programs related to Libya.”
Republicans on the select committee have blasted the State Department for its slow pace in producing documents needed to advance the congressional probe.
Many of the records provided Tuesday were “duplicates” of materials already in the committee’s possession, the State Department noted.
The agency also noted it has produced more than 50,000 pages, 23 interview transcripts, seven briefings and witnesses at all three public committee hearings.
