Benghazi

The former CIA director is no hero.

"The defendant is guilty as sin,” said federal prosecutor Julieanne Himelstein. “And,” she added, “he is a stone-cold terrorist.”

Abu Khatallah, the first person publicly charged in connection with the 2012 attacks in Benghazi, Libya, was acquitted of federal murder charges Tuesday after a grueling seven-week trial.

The trial of Ahmed Abu Khatallah, the first person to be publicly charged in connection with the 2012 Benghazi attacks, is becoming mired in discord, as the government and defense appear at odds over explosive intelligence that could put a dent in the government’s portrayal of Khatallah as the…

The United States has captured a second militant in connection with the 2012 attacks in Benghazi, Libya that left four Americans dead, the White House said Monday.

"I want them to hate him," a federal prosecutor said quietly on the evening of October 2 as his colleagues packed up. It had been a long first day in the trial of Ahmed Abu Khatallah, the man charged with instigating the tragic 2012 attacks in Benghazi, Libya.

"I want them to hate him," a federal prosecutor said quietly on the evening of October 2 as his colleagues packed up. It had been a long first day in the trial of Ahmed Abu Khatallah, the man charged with instigating the tragic 2012 attacks in Benghazi, Libya.

Abu Khatallah is facing 18 counts related to the 2012 attack in Benghazi, including murder and providing material support to terrorists. His long-awaited trial began Monday in Washington, D.C.

Bloomberg is reporting that President Trump is considering former Rep. Mike Rogers to replace James Comey as FBI director. Rogers is a former FBI agent; by the end of his seven terms in Congress he was the chairman of the House Intelligence Committee. Bloomberg's report suggest that Rogers "would…

Mike Rogers, the former Michigan congressman who chaired the House Intelligence committee for four years, is no longer working on the transition team for President-elect Donald Trump.

On Fox News's Special Report Thursday night, host Bret Baier and panelist Laura Ingraham discussed the role of former House Intelligence Committee chairman Mike Rogers in heading up national security planning for Donald Trump's transition. Both mentioned that conservatives are concerned with his…

Senior writer Stephen F. Hayes joined Fox News on Tuesday to talk about updates in the presidential race and new Benghazi revelations.

The FBI found about 30 emails involving Hillary Clinton that are potentially related to the Benghazi terrorist attack as part of its investigation of the former secretary of state's use of a private email server, the State Department said Tuesday.

Did Hillary Clinton commit perjury at a congressional hearing about the Benghazi attack? That's what two House Republican committee chairmen are asking the Justice Department to investigate. On Monday, House Oversight chairman Jason Chaffetz of Utah and House Judiciary chairman Bob Goodlatte of…

One of the truths I've come to believe over the years in covering conventions is that they play differently in the hall than they do on TV. I'm not in Cleveland, so I can't tell you how it played to the room, but on the screen, Chris Christie's show-trial indictment of Hillary Clinton came across…

Following the release of the House Benghazi Select Committee's report, the wife of one victim of the 2012 terrorist attack has spoken out for the very first time. The widow of Navy SEAL Tyrone Woods did not mince words about Hillary Clinton and the former secretary of state's "dismissive" comments…

My phone buzzed with a "news alert" from the New York Times Friday morning. Normally, these alerts are reserved for truly breaking, earth-shattering news, like the rise of "man buns" in Brooklyn.

On Monday, Rep. Nancy Pelosi said in a statement, “House Republicans’ Select Committee has now wasted more than two years and $7 million in taxpayer dollars retreading the same facts and conclusions exhaustively detailed in previous congressional reviews." Despite the various revelations that the…

The WEEKLY STANDARD Podcast with senior writer Stephen F. Hayes on the 800-page Select Committee on Benghazi report.

Among the many revelations that will emerge from the voluminous majority report of the Benghazi Select Committee when it is released Tuesday is this one: Barack Obama skipped his daily intelligence briefing one day after the Benghazi attacks on September 11, 2012. The president's briefer handed a…

The final majority report of the Benghazi Select Committee is set to be released later Tuesday morning. Representatives Jim Jordan and Mike Pompeo have signed onto the official majority document and authored a supplemental, 51-page "additional views" report of their own.

Clinton confidante Sidney Blumenthal dismissed the ongoing investigation into Hillary Clinton's role in the attack on the Benghazi consulate in Libya Thursday, calling it a thing of the past.

Federal officials announced Tuesday that the Justice Department won't pursue the death penalty against the suspected ringleader of the 2012 attacks on the U.S. consulate in Benghazi.

Romanian hacker Marcel Lazăr Lehel -- better known as Guccifer -- is being extradited to the United States, say news reports.

The WEEKLY STANDARD Podcast with senior writer Stephen F. Hayes on his recent review of the soon-to-be-released Benghazi movie 13 Hours.

"This is a true story." Those words appear onscreen to open 13 Hours, the major motion picture about Benghazi, in theaters on January 15. And with them, director Michael Bay announced that he is taking sides in the long-running debate over the attacks there on September 11, 2012.

This morning, Washington Post fact checker Glen Kessler decided to fact check Marco Rubio's statement at the latest GOP debate that Hillary Clinton lied about al Qaeda's involvement in the September 11, 2012 attack in Benghazi. In public, Clinton initially attributed the attack to spontaneous…

Hillary Clinton was confronted by a voter who pressed her on the Whitewater, Benghazi, and deleted email scandals. 

Charlie Rose defended Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton in an interview this morning with Republican presidential candidate Marco Rubio. Rose seemed after Rubio said Clinton lied about the Benghazi terror attack. 

Google has released the top questions about Hillary Clinton people were searching the day of the House's Benghazi hearing. Three were about Clinton and Benghazi, one was about whether or not she's still running, but the top one was about her age. "How old is Hillary Clinton?"

Hillary Clinton stumbled at the Benghazi hearing today on Capitol Hill. As the hearing moved well past its tenth hour, Clinton had a serious coughing fit that prevented her momentarily from being able to speak. 

During the House Select Committee on Benghazi hearing, Hillary Clinton's campaign sent out an email with her opening statement to the committee:

Trey Gowdy, the Republican chairman of the House's select committee investigating the Benghazi attacks, spent several minutes at Thursday's hearing questioning former secretary of state Hillary Clinton over the unusual advisory relationship she had with an old friend who had business interests iin…

FBI director James Comey refused to comment on the ongoing investigation into the use of Hillary Clinton's private email server. Comey refused to comment at a Capitol Hill hearing:

The Republican chairman of the House select committee on the 2012 Benghazi terrorist attack told Hillary Clinton that his investigation is "not about" the former secretary of state, despite claims to the contrary from members of Congress in both parties.

THE WEEKLY STANDARD podcast with Stephen F. Hayes, providing a preview of this morning's Benghazi hearing with former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.

Bill Clinton was left at home this morning when Hillary Clinton departed her Washington, D.C. mansion on her way to Capitol Hill. The Democratic presidential candidate is testifying before the Benghazi Select Committee.

The Benghazi Select Committee holds an open hearing with former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton Thursday. Clinton has said she is willing to stay as long as there are questions.

Democratic presidential candidate Martin O'Malley is not giving his rival, Hillary Clinton, a free pass. Today on the View, O'Malley said that Clinton should be held accountable for what she did as secretary of state. 

There was never any doubt that Democrats in Washington would launch an aggressive campaign to discredit the House Select Committee on Benghazi. The only question was when they’d do it.

The House Select Committee on Benghazi will be making public next week new documents that demonstrate Sidney Blumenthal was seeking business in Libya as he was advising then Secretary of State Hillary Clinton on U.S. policy in the country. According to a letter from Chairman Trey Gowdy to Elijah…

Since becoming the leading candidate for House speaker, majority leader Kevin McCarthy has been treated with suspicion by some conservative commentators. Sean Hannity is one of them, and in an appearance on Hannity’s Fox News program Tuesday, McCarty faced tough questions from the host about what…

The State Department released another tranche of emails from Hillary Clinton's private server Monday evening. While messages between Clinton and other State and administration officials concerning the most interesting and consequential subjects (like the Benghazi attacks) were heavily redacted,…

Coming off a well-received performance in Thursday's 5 p.m. debate, Carly Fiorina appeared on MSNBC's Hardball, where host Chris Matthews grilled the Republican candidate over her onstage claim that Hillary Clinton lied. "Hillary Clinton lies about Benghazi, she lies about e- mails," Fiorina said…

The New York Times recently reported -- wrongly, as it turns out -- that Hillary Clinton was the subject of a "criminal" investigation for conducting official State Department business on her private email system. Many of the Times's liberal readers were upset about the paper's handling of the…

Carly Fiorina accused Hillary Clinton having "blood on her hands" for her handling of the Benghazi terror attack that killed four Americans:

The The Republican National Committee is releasing a new video to argue that Democrat Hillary Clinton turn over the private email server she maintained while serving as secretary of state to an indpendent investigator. The web video showcases several reporters and members of the media excoriating…

On Monday, the Pentagon announced that Ali Ani al Harzi was killed in a U.S. airstrike in Mosul, Iraq. For those who have followed the public reporting on the September 11, 2012, Benghazi attack  closely, al Harzi’s name will ring a bell. He was one of the first suspects to be publicly identified…

The Select Committee on Benghazi is accusing Hillary Clinton of not turning over all her work-related emails. The committee says it will release the proof later today. 

Among the emails released by the State Department today was one sent by Hillary Clinton to Jake Sullivan on April 8, 2011. Clinton was forwarding a private intelligence report that Sidney Blumenthal had sent her with the subject line: "UK game playing; new rebel strategists; Egypt moves in."

Hillary Clinton was forwarded an article a month after the terrorist attack on Benghazi that killed U.S. ambassador Chris Stevens that quoted Stevens's father. In the October 14, 2012, Bloomberg article, Jan Stevens, the late ambassador's father, was quoted saying that it would be "abhorrent" to…

America Rising has run the numbers on the newly released Hillary Clinton emails. According to the Republican-aligned firm, Clinton received 24 emails from Sidney Blumenthal. 

A small batch of newly released Hillary Clinton emails show that the then-secretary of state was exchanging sensitive information on her home brew server.

Clinton Foundation staffer Sid Blumenthal has been subpoenaed by the House Benghazi committee, Reuters reports:

Hillary Clinton had a very bad day. 

Matthew Continetti, writing for the Washington Free Beacon:

Hillary Clinton is worse than Richard Nixon, says the Republican National Committee.

Stephen F. Hayes reported on Fox News that Hillary Clinton's top two aides, Huma Abedin and Cheryl Mills, used personal emails while working for the secretary of state at the State Department:

Monday night, it was revealed that Hillary Clinton used a personal email account the entire time she served as secretary of state. Not only does conducting official business with a private account violate federal law, it raises a host of concerns ranging from whether or not her communications were…

After a long day on November 13, 2013, Speaker of the House John Boehner walked down the marble hallways of the Longworth House Office Building to the personal office of Representative Devin Nunes for a drink, a cigarette, and maybe a brief reprieve.

On Friday, November 21, the Republican-majority House Intelligence Committee released a report about the CIA and the intelligence community’s conduct in the terror attack on the U.S. compound in Benghazi, Libya. The report uncritically accepted the CIA’s defense of its conduct, and so reporters…

Steve Hayes responded last night to the controversial House intelligence Benghazi report:

Senator Lindsey Graham of South Carolina called for the formation of a Benghazi select committee in the Senate. He made the comments on Hugh Hewitt's radio show, according to a partial transcript of the show provided by a producer.

The Justice Department has released a new, superseding indictment in the government’s case against Ahmed Abu Khatallah, the only suspect held by the U.S. in connection with the September 11, 2012, terrorist attack in Benghazi, Libya.

President Obama's former defense secretary and CIA chief, Leon Panetta, told MSNBC today that he knew the Benghazi attack was a "terrorist attack" right away:

The WEEKLY STANDARD podcast with senior writer Stephen F. Hayes on the House Select Committee on Benghazi's hearings, and the status of U.S. policy on combatting ISIS.

A largely overlooked posting on the White House's Twitter account the very day of the assault on the U.S. diplomatic facility in Benghazi, Libya in 2012 is a painful symbol of the president's portrayal of the world versus reality. Two hours after word first reached the White House, around the time…

Vice President Dick Cheney tells radio host Hugh Hewitt that Hillary Clinton might not be the Democratic presidential candidate in 2016. 

A key figure in the security failures surrounding the September 11, 2012, terrorist attack in Benghazi, Libya is fighting alongside members of Ansar al Sharia, which is one of the terrorist groups responsible for the assault on the U.S. mission and annex that night.

The WEEKLY STANDARD podcast with senior writer Stephen F. Hayes on the capture of Benghazi suspect Ahmed Abu Khattala, and why his capture wouldn't likely yield many answers.

The Washington Post reports:

In an interview that will air tonight, Hillary Clinton will tell Diane Sawyer that the Benghazi terrorist attack that left four Americans dead is "more of a reason to run" for president of the United States.

Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton tried to deflect some of the blame for the failure of preventing the Benghazi terror attack on hired experts. She made the comments in an interview with Diane Sawyer:

Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has a book coming out next week. Today, her publisher released images from the back cover of the book. The pictures mostly show Hillary meeting global leaders and attending important meetings.

Hillary Clinton is right about Benghazi—or at least she's right about one thing. 

Steve Hayes, with Ron Fournier and Charles Krauthammer, last night on Fox News:

Benghazi, crazy. That’s the association the White House and its allies want to encourage as a House Select Committee begins what should be the most thorough investigation of the Benghazi attacks to date. The White House wants to delegitimize the process before it begins and preemptively discredit…

In response to a Freedom of Information Act request filed last summer by Judicial Watch, the Obama administration last week released 41 documents related to the attacks on U.S. facilities in Benghazi, Libya, on September 11, 2012. An email from the deputy national security adviser, Ben Rhodes, has…

Congressman Tom Cotton took to the House floor yesterday to blast the Democrats' "fake outrage" over the establishment of the Select Committee on Benghazi:

The office of the speaker of the House released this list of members chosen for the Benghazi Select Committee:

THE WEEKLY STANDARD Podcast with executive editor Fred Barnes on President Obama's performance and the Democrats' chances in 2014.

The investigation into the Benghazi affair is opposed by the usual suspects who advance the predictable arguments to include, What, another investigation?  We’ve been there and done that. Nothing left to learn. Time to move on.

THE WEEKLY STANDARD Podcast with Thomas Joscelyn from the Foundation for the Defense of Democracies on the latest inquiries into the attack on the consulate in Benghazi, Libya.

An excerpt from Bill Kristol's weekly newsletter:

Harry Reid, the Senate majority leader from Nevada, released a statement about the formation of a select committee in the House of Representatives to investigate the federal government's response to the 2012 terrorist attack in Benghazi, Libya. In his statement, Reid criticized the Republican party…

Mitch McConnell, the top Republican in the Senate, has issued a statement expressing support for Speaker of the House John Boehner's decision to have the House vote on forming a Select Committee on Benghazi.

UPDATE: Other news organizations confirm the report below that House speaker John Boehner will announce the formation of a select committee on Benghazi, led by Rep. Trey Gowdy. 

A retired military officer serving in the U.S.'s Africa Command headquarters in Germany told the House oversight committee Thursday that it was his belief at the time that the September 11, 2012, attack on the American consulate in Benghazi, Libya was attributable to an Islamic extremist group and…

ABC News's Jonathan Karl verbally sparred with White House press secretary Jay Carney for eight minutes over the latest revelations about the origin of talking points that wrongly blamed an American's internet video for the September 11, 2012, terrorist attack on the American consulate in Benghazi,…

THE WEEKLY STANDARD Podcast with senior writer Stephen F. Hayes on the Benghazi testimony in Congress by former acting CIA Director Michael Morrell.

Former CIA deputy director Mike Morell, who also served a stint as acting director of Langley, is testifying before House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence today. The hearing focuses on the Obama administration’s response to the September 11, 2012, terrorist attack in Benghazi, Libya.

Two leading Republicans on the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence say that Michael Morell, then acting director of the Central Intelligence Agency, gave an account of his role on Benghazi that was often misleading and sometimes deliberately false.

The WEEKLY STANDARD podcast, with senior writer Stephen F. Hayes on his recent feature story on new revelations about Benghazi.

Two leading Republicans on the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence say that Michael Morell, former deputy director and twice acting director of the Central Intelligence Agency, provided an account of his role on Benghazi that was often highly misleading and at times deliberately false.

For five years, the Obama administration has touted its success in the war against al Qaeda. In formal addresses, daily press briefings, and campaign speeches top administration officials have celebrated the “decimation” of al Qaeda and predicted its imminent extinction.

A lawmaker at a Benghazi hearing stumped U.S. intelligence officials yesterday with this question:

Months and months ago, when Barack Obama could be bothered to say anything at all about the attacks in Benghazi, Libya, on September 11, 2012, the president promised to bring the perpetrators to justice. That was before White House spokesman Jay Carney dismissed the attacks as something that…

The WEEKLY STANDARD podcast, with senior writer Stephen F. Hayes on the why the recently released Senate report on Benghazi is a big deal.

The Senate Intelligence Committee has now released its declassified review of the intelligence surrounding the September 11, 2012 terrorist attack in Benghazi, Libya. The bottom line is this: Multiple parts of al Qaeda’s international terrorist network were involved.

To hear it from the New York Times editorial page, the many issues surrounding the attacks in Benghazi are now settled. 

The State Department today publicly announced a $10 million reward "for information leading to the arrest or conviction of any individual responsible for the September 11, 2012 Benghazi attacks." The announcement for the reward is posted on rewardsforjustice.net.

The State Department today designated three Ansar al Sharia organizations, as well as three of their leaders, as terrorist entities. The State Department reports that Ansar al Sharia in Derna was “involved” in the September 11, 2012 terrorist attack in Benghazi. Former Guantanamo detainee Sufian…

Less than two weeks ago, on December 28, David Kirkpatrick of the New York Times trumpeted the results of his investigation into the attacks on U.S. government facilities in Benghazi, writing that there was “no evidence that al Qaeda or other international terrorists had any role in the assault.”…

The WEEKLY STANDARD podcast, with senior writer Stephen Hayes on Bob Gates and his new book, Benghazi, and Hillary Clinton.

The Washington Post reports that U.S. officials suspect Sufian Ben Qumu, an ex-Guantanamo detainee, “played a role in the attack on the American compound in Benghazi, Libya, and are planning to designate the group he leads as a foreign terrorism organization.” Ben Qumu is based in Derna, Libya and…

During an interview with CNN’s Anderson Cooper, New York Times reporter David Kirkpatrick was asked about the connections between Muhammad Jamal’s network and the Benghazi attack.

The WEEKLY STANDARD podcast, with Thomas Joscelyn from the Foundation for the Defense of Democracies, on his recent reporting about the whitewashing of Benghazi.

Blake Hounshell of Politico takes a look at the latest back and forth over Benghazi sparked by David Kirkpatrick’s 7,000-plus word piece for the New York Times.

Let’s start by giving David Kirkpatrick credit. Kirkpatrick, the Cairo bureau chief of the New York Times and author of this weekend’s much-discussed piece on Benghazi, provides many new on-the-ground, minute-by-minute details of the attacks and the weeks and months leading up to them. Some of the…

David D. Kirkpatrick of the New York Times has published a lengthy account of the September 11, 2012, terrorist attack in Benghazi, Libya. While much in Kirkpatrick’s report is not new, the piece is receiving a considerable amount of attention because of this sweeping conclusion: “Months of…

The terrorist attack against the U.S. diplomatic post in Benghazi, Libya on September 11, 2012, awakened renewed interest in the security of overseas consulates and embassy facilities. A recent report by the State Department's Office of the Inspector General spotlights some major concerns regarding…

Two former CIA officials who fought in Benghazi on September 11, 2012, were asked to sign additional nondisclosure agreements (NDAs) more than six months after those attacks. The two officials, who will testify Thursday before a subcommittee of the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence,…

When South Carolina’s Lindsey Graham threatened last week to place a hold in the Senate on all Obama administration nominations until the president and his advisers cooperate fully with investigations into the attacks in Benghazi, Libya, on September 11, 2012, White House press secretary Jay Carney…

The WEEKLY STANDARD podcast with senior writer Stephen F. Hayes on his most recent piece on Benghazi and Obamacare.

CBS's 60 Minutes ran this report last night on the Benghazi terror attack of September 11, 2012:

During a press conference on July 26, Tunisian interior minister Lotfi Ben Jeddou listed the suspected terrorists thought to be responsible for two high-profile assassinations in his country. Among the names was one Ali Harzi—the same name as one of the chief suspects in the September 11, 2012,…

President Barack Obama delivered remarks from the White House Thursday morning following the conclusion of the government shutdown and the raising of the debt ceiling. The president praised government as an entity "we rely on" in a "whole lot of ways." He also said that he hoped the country had…

THE WEEKLY STANDARD podcast with senior writer Stephen F. Hayes on his recent story about the Benghazi Review Board, the congressional hearings on Benghazi, and the debate over whether to defund or delay Obamacare.

The leaders of the Administrative Review Board that investigated the attacks on US facilities in Benghazi, Libya, appeared before the House Government Reform and Oversight Committee Thursday, and offered testimony that further undermined the already-tattered credibility of their own probe.

At 8:46 a.m. on September 11, 2001, American Airlines Flight 11 was crashed into the North Tower of the World Trade Center in New York City by terrorists.  Eleven years later on September 11, 2012, events unfolded in Benghazi, Libya, that would ultimately leave a U.S. diplomatic facility gutted and…

THE WEEKLY STANDARD podcast with senior writer Stephen F. Hayes on the Benghazi controversy, one year later.

On September 3, 2013, CIA director John Brennan sent a letter to House Intelligence Committee chairman Mike Rogers responding to questions about CIA-affiliated personnel who were on the ground during the attacks on U.S. facilities in Benghazi, Libya. The letter is below:

One year after the terrorist attacks on U.S. facilities in Benghazi, Libya, the survivors may finally begin to talk.

Although the White House posted its annual Presidential Proclamation of National Days of Prayer and Remembrance commemorating September 11th, 2001, there is no mention of the Benghazi attacks of 2012.  One day before the 12th anniversary of the September 11 terror attacks and the first anniversary…

Josh Rogin reports that "Secretary of State John Kerry has determined that the four State Department officials placed on administrative leave by Hillary Clinton after the terrorist attack on the U.S. mission in Benghazi do not deserve any formal disciplinary action and has asked them to come back…

During his speech on the economy last month in Galesburg, Illinois, Barack Obama suggested Washington should stop focusing on an “endless parade of distractions and political posturing and phony scandals.” He repeated the line about “phony scandals” in another speech on July 25 and in his weekly…

Lately, the Obama administration has taken to referring to "phony scandals" that have distracted Washington from the important issues--namely, the White House's domestic agenda. But a new poll from Fox News shows that the majority of Americans believe each of the four of the administration's…

The WEEKLY STANDARD podcast with senior writer Stephen F. Hayes on U.S.-Russia relations and the Obama administration's al Qaeda narrative.

In a May 30, 2013, letter to CIA officers on the ground last fall in Benghazi, Libya, CIA director John Brennan notified survivors of those attacks that congressional oversight committees remain interested in hearing from them.

THE WEEKLY STANDARD has obtained a copy of the letter CIA director John Brennan sent to survivors of the Benghazi terror attack:

John Brennan, the director of the Central Intelligence Agency, sent a letter to each of the CIA employees who were on the ground during the Benghazi attack on September 11, 2012, inviting them to share information with Congress, according to three sources familiar with the missive. Brennan sent the…

The WEEKLY STANDARD podcast with editor William Kristol on Benghazi, and why it is not a "phony scandal."

The WEEKLY STANDARD podcast with Thomas Joscelyn, senior fellow at the Foundation For Defense of Democracies, on Benghazi.

The WEEKLY STANDARD podcast with senior writer Stephen F. Hayes on the de-fund vs. delay Obamacare debate, the so-called 'phony' scandals that aren't going away, and the Chris Christie/Rand Paul schoolyard brawl.

More than ten months after the September 11, 2012, terrorist attack in Benghazi, Libya, Ansar al Sharia is even more entrenched in Libyan society. Members of Ansar al Sharia in Benghazi were reportedly part of the al Qaeda-linked jihadist coalition that killed four Americans, including a U.S.…

The WEEKLY STANDARD podcast with executive editor Fred Barnes on President Obama's second term plans and how the GOP should respond.

Congressman Frank Wolf, a Republican from Virginia, said today on the House floor that survivors of the Benghazi terror attack have been forced to sign non-disclosure agreements:

Nine months after the terror attacks at a U.S. diplomatic post in Benghazi, Libya, an audit of five "selected high threat level posts" of the State Department by the Office of the Inspector General (OIG) reveals cause for concern.  The report found that the facilities in question failed to comply…

Recently I spent some time surrounded by people who are smarter than I am, who are braver and more committed to human progress, who know more about science and technology, more about business and industry, and more about budgets and expenditures.

THE WEEKLY STANDARD podcast with editor William Kristol on Susan Rice's promotion, the nomination of Samantha Power to be the next ambassador to the United Nations, and Congress's investigation into the Internal Revenue Service scandal.

The complexity of Washington scandals as they unfold usually involves many moments at which it is possible to lose sight of the forest for the trees. Two such instances have come into sharper relief in recent weeks. One is that we still have no good explanation for U.N. ambassador Susan Rice’s…

This morning on Face the Nation, Bob Woodward weighed in on the Obama scandals:

The State Department released its annual Country Reports on Terrorism 2012 survey on Thursday. The section on the Middle East and North Africa includes a report on terror attacks in Libya.  All told, there were eleven terrorism-related attacks last year in Libya prior to the 9/11 attack in Benghazi…

The White House has released this Situation Room photo of the president and his advisers meeting to discuss "hurricane preparedness":

The Republican National Committee announces that it's filing a Freedom of Information Act request for the release of all "Benghazi Emails Between Obama’s Reelection Campaign and State Department." The RNC's press release reads:

In response to reports that the House Oversight Committee, chaired by Darrell Issa, has subpoenaed information related to the Benghazi terror attack, the State Department responds by promising to "take stock of any new or outstanding requests for information." The State Department, however, did not…

So, what about the video? The White House last week released nearly 100 pages of emails detailing some of the discussions within the Obama administration that resulted in major revisions to talking points about the Benghazi attacks drafted by the Central Intelligence Agency.

As the investigation into the Obama administration’s handling of the attacks on U.S. facilities in Benghazi intensifies, lawmakers on Capitol Hill are seeking to conduct transcribed interviews with thirteen top State Department officials in the coming weeks in order to learn more. Those named in…

Three U.S. senators have identified the missing parts of the response to the Benghazi terror attack. In a statement, Senators Kelly Ayotte, Lindsey Graham, and John McCain list "What We Do Not Know" about Benghazi:

South Carolina senator Lindsey Graham was asked last night whether he's going to apologize to Susan Rice. He said that she doesn't deserve an apology; she "deserves to be subpoenaed."

CIA director David Petraeus was surprised when he read the freshly rewritten talking points an aide had emailed him in the early afternoon of Saturday, September 15. One day earlier, analysts with the CIA’s Office of Terrorism Analysis had drafted a set of unclassified talking points policymakers…

A new poll from CNN demonstrates that Americans say the continuing investigations into two scandals that have arisen in the last week are important.

Obama aide Dan Pfeiffer said this morning on TV that it's "irrelevant" who edited the Benghazi talking points:

Obama aide Dan Pfeiffer said it's an "irrelevant fact" where the president physically was during the Benghazi terror attack on September 11, 2012:

Most Americans say that the issues being raised by congressional hearings into the Benghazi terrorist attacks and the revelations that the IRS unfairly targeted conservative groups "involve serious matters that need to be investigated." According to a new poll from Gallup, 69 percent of those…

The Washington Post editorial board is quite upset with “Republicans and conservative media obsessed” with the “phony” issue of the administration’s misleading public explanation of the nature of the attacks in Benghazi. In a lengthy editorial, the Post makes a haughtier and more condescending…

THE WEEKLY STANDARD podcast with executive editor Fred Barnes on scandal week in Washington.

On TV this morning, Bob Woodward made the case for not dismissing Benghazi and compared the scandal to Watergate:

After nearly two days of editing, then CIA director David Petraeus was sent the revised Benghazi talking points on September 15, 2012. He was less than impressed, to put it mildly.

Steve Hayes on the Benghazi emails, last night on Sean Hannity's Fox News show:

The White House on Wednesday released 94 pages of emails between top administration and intelligence officials who helped shape the talking points about the attacks in Benghazi, Libya, that the CIA would provide to policymakers in both the legislative and executive branches.

The Obama administration’s editing of the Benghazi talking points not only obscured what really happened in Libya on September 11, 2012, it also confused the events of earlier that day in Cairo, Egypt. The editing process specifically removed any hint that “jihadists” were encouraged to “break…

On Twitter this morning, David Axelrod, a former top political adviser to Barack Obama, tried to downplay the significance of the growing Benghazi scandal. "I think this story is BS," he said, arguing that those concerned about the Obama adminstration's handling of the terror attack are really only…

CNN’s Jake Tapper has obtained the verbatim text of an email from Ben Rhodes, a top Obama adviser on foreign policy and national security, which I referred to in two recent pieces on the Obama administration’s manipulation of the Benghazi talking points. It's a good scoop. Assuming the email is…

Last week, the Benghazi talking points took center stage in the ongoing investigation of the 9/11 anniversary attacks in Libya.  Jay Carney came under intense questioning at Friday's White House press briefing as he struggled to justify a dozen iterations of talking points before Susan Rice used…

Iran will chair the U.N.'s disarmament conference.

THE WEEKLY STANDARD podcast with Stephen F. Hayes on Benghazi, the President's press conference, and his recent story, The Benghazi Scandal Grows.

At a press conference today at the White House, President Obama said "There's no there there" on criticism of how his administration handled the Benghazi terror attack:

Even as the White House strove last week to move beyond questions about the Benghazi attacks of Tuesday, September 11, 2012, fresh evidence emerged that senior Obama administration officials knowingly misled the country about what had happened in the days following the assaults. The Weekly Standard…

Liberal former congressman Dennis Kucinich blamed President Obama's Libya policy for the death of four Americans in Benghazi. Kucinich also said the Obama administration politicized the response to Benghazi because they "were in the circumference of an election, and when you get on the eve of an…

The White House has touted the Accountability Review Board (ARB) investigation of the Benghazi massacre as a review “led by two men of unimpeachable expertise and credibility that oversaw a process that was rigorous and unsparing.” In fact, the report was purposefully incomplete and willfully…

Jay Carney aggressively defended the Obama administration’s handling of the Benghazi attacks and the revision of CIA talking points Friday in an uncharacteristically hostile White House press briefing. But in his attempts to protect himself and his administration colleagues, Carney offered a series…

Washington is buzzing about the expose this morning by ABC News' Jonathan Karl showing that the White House's Benghazi talking points underwent 12 different revisions and were scrubbed of references to terrorism. The report builds on and confirms the reporting by The Weekly Standard's Stephen…

THE WEEKLY STANDARD podcast with William Kristol on Benghazi and the week in review.

At a White House press briefing on May 1, Barack Obama spokesman Jay Carney attempted to frame new reporting on the Benghazi attacks as old news by noting that the attacks had taken place "a long time ago." 

Ron Fournier, writing at National Journal on the growing Benghazi scandal:

NBC's Lisa Myers said this morning on TV that Democrats have been calling her to attempt to undermine the testimony of Benghazi whistleblower Gregory Hicks:

Last December, Hillary Clinton's State Department famously threw four career officials under the bus for Benghazi (while of course exculpating all senior and political appointees). One of them was Raymond Maxwell, the deputy assistant secretary for Maghreb Affairs in the Near East Bureau. But…

Fresh off of Wednesday's House hearing on the Benghazi attack, America Rising has a new video juxtaposing the statements of the whistleblowers to those then-Secretary of State Hillary Clinton made at an earlier hearing. Watch the video below:

House speaker John Boehner is requesting the Obama administration release unclassified emails between the White House and the State Department regarding the Benghazi attack of September 11, 2012. In a statement at the Capitol Thursday morning, Boehner cited Wednesday's House hearing with three…

Steve Hayes, writing for nytimes.com:

House speaker John Boehner is criticizing the White House's reaction to the revalations, first reported by Stephen F. Hayes for THE WEEKLY STANDARD, that the administration's talking points on the terrorist attacks on the U.S. consulate in Benghazi last September were altered. From a press release…

THE WEEKLY STANDARD podcast with Stephen F. Hayes on what we learned at today's Benghazi hearing in the House of Representatives.

At today's Benghazi hearing, Congressman Mark Pocan complains of "rehashing some of the same old stories":

Democratic congressman William Lacy Clay of Missouri blamed congressional budget cuts for the terror attack on Americans in Benghazi:

Benghazi whistleblower Gregory Hicks said that the he was "stunned," his "jaw dropped," and "embarrassed" when Susan Rice blamed the terror attack on an Internet video:

Benghazi whistleblower Gregory Hicks, the foreign service officer and former deputy chief of mission in Libya, said at a Capitol Hill hearing that the "saddest phone call I have ever had in my life" was when he heard Amb. Chris Stevens had been murdered:

Benghazi whistleblower Eric Nordstrom, the former Libyan regional security officer, choked up today at the Capitol Hill hearing on the 9/11 Benghazi terror attack:

House Armed Services Committee chair Buck McKeon asks the Department of Defense to release more Benghazi-related details:

Nearly eight months after terrorists killed a U.S. ambassador and three other Americans in Benghazi, Libya, the Obama administration still has not explained who, exactly, was responsible.

The congressional hearings on the 9/11 Benghazi attacks this week will likely focus on the classic questions often asked on such occasions: what did those involved know, and when did they know it?  Not only will the post-attack words and actions of government officials come under scrutiny, but…

THE WEEKLY STANDARD podcast with Stephen F. Hayes on his recent piece, The Benghazi Talking Points. 

A top U.S. diplomat will testify Wednesday that as fighting raged in Benghazi, Libya, in the early morning hours of September 12, 2012, military officials in the region told a second rescue team preparing to deploy from Tripoli to Benghazi not to make the trip.

Democratic congressman Stephen Lynch said this morning on TV that Susan Rice used "scrubbed" talking points on Benghazi to deliver "false information" to the American people: 

Fox News's Chad Pergram announces the line-up for the  whistleblower Benghazi hearing, which will be held on Capitol Hill next week, on Twitter:

THE WEEKLY STANDARD podcast with William Kristol about Stephen F. Hayes's new piece, The Benghazi Talking Points. 

The inspector general of the State Department is reportedly looking into whether the Accountability Review Board of the Benghazi terror attack intereviewed everyone they should have. Fox News's James Rosen has the scoop.