Today, I want to talk about one of the longest running so-called political scandals in recent memory – Benghazi.

What does that mean? Well, on Sept 11, 2012, a US diplomatic outpost was overrun by Islamism militants and it resulted in the death of four Americans.

The secretary of state at the time, Hillary Clinton, was blamed for it.

It’s a serious point in history, it was the first time an American ambassador was killed abroad since 1979.

  • At first, Republicans blamed Obama of withholding military help, but at the time the closest military help was in Italy. They simply couldn’t reach Benghazi in time.
  • The CIA initially blamed the attack on an angry mob protesting an anti-Islam movie which had stirred unrest in other parts of the Middle East and North Africa. The UN ambassador at the time, Susan Rice, repeated this claim in several interviews following the attack.
  • But that turned out to be mostly wrong. The attack was premeditated by members of Islamist militias; it had very little to do with the video. While later investigations proved that Rice was only repeating what the CIA had told her, and not lying, her career ambition for Secretary of State was ruined. She withdrew herself from consideration to be the next Secretary.

But, I say, it’s the longest running so-called scandal because it has been four years, eight investigations spanning 28 months, almost entirely conducted by Congressional Republicans, and yet not a single piece of evidence of wrongdoing was found – with the exception of the State Department’s own internal report that cited their own incompetence for failing to provide adequate security. All at the expense of the American taxpayer.

In contrast, the 9/11 commission lasted only 19 months, produced 41 recommendations, and a bipartisan 567-paged Final Report.




But, Republicans and Fox continue to harp on Benghazi. Why?

Because it’s a political smear campaign against Hillary Clinton that has proven to be effective. White House majority leader Kevin McCarthy admits it on national television via Fox News.

There are more and more republicans denouncing the Benghazi claims, but you can still expect it to stick around for this presidential season.