Rep. Gowdy Delivers His Report

Delivers, like Deliverance. See what I did there?

Well, that didn't take as long as I'd expected it would. Representative Gowdy released the Select Committee on Benghazi's Proposed Report just one day after the Committee's minority side released its own prebuttal.

It's only a proposed report at this time, meaning that the minority side will have the chance to review and comment before the full committee votes the report out. There's no telling when that might be, however, since the two sides don't seem to be on speaking terms.

For potential political impact on the 2016 election, see the last section of the report, Proposed additional views of Representatives Jim Jordan and Mike Pompeo, which has a fairly devastating "Public vs. Private Timeline" of Hillary Clinton's conflicting statements in the days after the attack. Starting on page 18.

See also the astonished reaction of NEA Bureau officials to UN Ambassador Susan Rice's performance on all five Sunday talk shows on 16 September during which she absolutely insisted the attack in Benghazi was a spontaneous mob reaction incited by the Innocence of Muslims video.

On Monday, September 17, 2012, some State Department officials reacted with shock to Ambassador Rice’s claims. Specifically, the Department’s NEA Bureau press department—the experts on Libya—reacted with disbelief. The discussion began with NEA’s Senior Libyan Desk Officer reacting to draft press guidance that quoted the CIA talking points by saying, “I really hope this was revised. I don’t think we should go on the record on this.” This led to the Deputy Director, Office of Maghreb Affairs, NEA saying, “Not sure we want to be so definitive[,]”

NEA Spokesperson: The horse has left the barn on this, don’t you think? Rice was on FIVE Sunday Morning shows yesterday saying this. Tough to walk back.

Senior Advisor for Strategic Communications, NEA: [Nuland] planned on walking it back just a bit, though.

Senior Libyan Desk Officer, NEA: I think Rice was off the reservation on this one.

Senior Advisor for Strategic Communications, NEA: Yup. Luckily there’s enough in her language to fudge exactly what she said/meant.

NEA Spokesperson: Off the reservation on five networks!

Senior Advisor for Strategic Communications, NEA: [White House] very worried about the politics. This was all their doing.

The White House was very worried about the politics? What's new about that? We are all very worried about the politics, aren't we? White House and Congress, majority side and minority, Trump and Clinton. It's what we all have in common. To quote Elwood Blues: remember, people, that no matter who you are and what you do to live, thrive, and survive, there are still some things that make us all the same. You. Me. Them. Everybody. Everybody.