House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi said a GOP-created panel aimed at investigating the 2012 terrorist attacks in Benghazi may be in violation of House ethics rules.
Pelosi, D-Calif., said that based on remarks made Wednesday by House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., the panel appears to have been created for political reasons.
“I do believe that this could be an ethical issue in the House for whoever establishes this committee,” Pelosi said. “Is this a violation of the law or anything that brings discredit to the House? One of the things you have to be very specific about is that none of your taxpayer dollars are used for any political purpose.”
McCarthy, Pelosi added, “very gleefully claimed that this had a political purpose and had been a political success.”
McCarthy told Fox News on Wednesday that Clinton appeared “unbeatable,” until the House GOP formed the Benghazi committee, which exposed Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton’s use of a private email server during her tenure as Secretary of State.
“What are her numbers today?” McCarthy said. “Her numbers are dropping. Why? Because she’s untrustable. But no one would have known any of that had happened had we not fought.”
McCarthy did not explicitly say the purpose of the Benghazi committee was to make political trouble for Clinton, but his comments have also drawn complaints from Republicans who have said they cheapened the committee, which was to investigate the attack that killed four Americans in 2012 in Libya, including Ambassador Chris Stevens.
Still, Democrats have said McCarthy’s remarks are essentially an admission that the committee was designed for a political purpose. House rules prohibit use of taxpayer money for political purposes.
“It’s just a stunning admission on the part of the Republican leader, that the Benghazi Committee was a committee with a political purpose in mind,” Pelosi said. “It makes the whole operation practically an unethical operation.”
Pelosi and other Democrats have increased calls to disband the committee and end the investigation, which they have called a political witch hunt aimed at discrediting Clinton.
“I think the Republicans should shut it down,” Pelosi said. “If they need any further evidence, they need only look at their own statements.”
