There was a moment, very late in the House Benghazi Committee’s questioning of Hillary Clinton, when Clinton opened the door for lawmakers to discuss the specifics of her obstruction of the committee’s work. Such a discussion might have put Clinton in a difficult spot and led any reasonable outside observer to conclude that Clinton withheld information from Congress for nearly three years. And yet the Benghazi Committee, lacking a central focus and winding down a long and exhausting hearing, did not effectively pursue the issue.

The moment came when Rep. Lynn Westmoreland asked Clinton how her legal team vetted 60,000-plus emails from her time as secretary of state — a job the committee has maintained should have been done by a disinterested third party, not Clinton’s lawyers.