By Brandon Moseley
Alabama Political Reporter
On Wednesday, June 17, Congresswoman Martha Roby (R-Montgomery) commented on what was learned after longtime Clinton aide Sidney Blumenthal was questioned for eight hours by her and the Select Committee on Benghazi on his role in fact finding after the Benghazi attack in 2012.
US Representative Roby said in a statement, “Our deposition of Sid Blumenthal lasted eight hours yesterday, but that was how long it had to take to get through some of this complicated situation. One thing we learned was that he basically copied and pasted unverified information into multiple emails sent to former Secretary Clinton, which she then shared with senior State Department officials. This dubious information came from a source that had financial and political ties inside Libya.”
Rep. Roby continued, “As Chairman Gowdy pointed out, “You have an intelligence apparatus at your disposal. We have a CIA. Why would you not rely on your own vetted, source intelligence agency?”
Rep. Roby asked, “So how much and in what capacity did this information influence the decisions Clinton made before, during and after the horrific attack on our embassy in Benghazi? This very question proves just how important it is for the State Department and Clinton to provide the emails that we have been seeking throughout the whole process. We’ll continue to push for the truth and won’t let up on the State Department until we get some answers.”
The big revelation of the hearing was that Blumenthal was not advising then Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, but was instead being used as a conduit for information about Libya and Benghazi for a third party who allegedly had business dealings inside Libya.
The Chairman of the Select Committee on Benghazi, US Representative Trey Gowdy (R-South Carolina) said in a statement on Wednesday, “Sidney Blumenthal produced to the Committee nearly 60 new emails regarding Libya and Benghazi…These emails were not previously produced to the Committee or released to the public.”
The Ranking Member on the Select Committee on Benghazi, Rep. Elijah Cummings (D-Georgia) said that the committee found “no smoking gun.”
Rep. Cummings and his fellow Democrats on the Committee have objected to the fact that the Committee has spent $3,528,000 to this point investigating the Benghazi incident. They wrote, “Instead of taking concrete steps to enhance the safety and security of our diplomatic corps overseas, the Select Committee on Benghazi continues to squander millions of dollars and has nothing to show for it other than a partisan attack against Secretary Clinton and her campaign for president.”
Most analysts consider former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton (D) to be the Democratic frontrunner in the race for the Presidency of the United States.
Congresswoman Martha Roby represents Alabama’s Second Congressional District. This is her third term in the United States Congress.
