A squabble is brewing in the House’s special Benghazi committee, with Democrats accusing the Republican chairman of shutting them out of interviews with witnesses.
Rep. Elijah Cummings of Maryland, the panel’s top Democrat, says Chairman Trey Gowdy has conducted a “partisan investigation” over the past eight months by holding secret meetings with witnesses and then withholding or downplaying information from those interviews “that undermines allegations the committee is investigating.”
“The American people may find this difficult to believe, but eight months into this investigation, Democrats and Republicans on the Benghazi Select Committee have not spoken jointly with even a single witness,” Cummings wrote in a Tuesday letter to Gowdy.
“You may have authority under House rules to conduct secret interviews and exclude Democrats, but doing so forfeits your right to continue calling this investigation ‘bipartisan.’”
Four American were killed during the Sept. 11, 2012, attacks at a U.S. diplomatic mission in Benghazi. The Republican-run House voted in May to create a select committee to investigate what led up to the attacks and the Obama administration’s response.
Democrats generally view the 12-member panel, which includes seven Republicans and five Democrats, as nothing more than Republican grandstanding since several other House committees — most notably the Oversight and Government Reform Committee — already have investigated the attacks.
Gowdy said he reserves the right to exclude Democrats from source interviews because he fears Democrats may try to twist and spin the interviews for political gain, saying their presence may “unduly influencing witnesses and evidence gathering.”
“While this may not be politically convenient for either of us, we cannot risk undermining the integrity of our investigation simply to score political points,” the South Carolina Republican wrote to Cummings on Monday. “We cannot conduct an objective investigation if you continue to put out conclusory information based on fragmentary or inefficiency evidence.”
Gowdy added that no congressional select committee has ever had a requirement that sources meet with both sides at the same time, and the Benghazi committee is no exception.
“Chairman Gowdy is disappointed by the minority’s decision to [publicly] release their letters, but he will continue to work to address any legitimate minority concerns,” said Gowdy spokesman Jamal Ware. “He will not, however, allow the committee’s investigation to be hamstrung by politics.”
Cummings said Gowdy’s explanation rings hollow because the witnesses say they have been willing to speak with Democrats.
Democrats added they only decided to take their grievance public after spending “hundreds of hours” trying to address their concerns privately with Gowdy.
We have “exhausted our patience and we can no longer remain silent,” said Rep. Linda Sanchez, D-Calif. “This isn’t the fact-based or fair investigation that Gowdy promised it would be and that the American people deserve.”
