WASHINGTON (AP) — House Speaker John Boehner (BAY’-nur) is putting together the special committee that will investigate the 2012 attack in Benghazi, Libya, while Democrats debate whether they want to participate.
Boehner named the six Republicans today who will serve on the panel chaired by South Carolina Republican Trey Gowdy. They are Susan Brooks of Indiana, Jim Jordan of Ohio, Mike Pompeo of Kansas, Martha Roby of Alabama, Peter Roskam of Illinois and Lynn Westmoreland of Georgia.
Democrats aren’t sure they want to be part of a probe that House Democratic leader Nancy Pelosi calls a “political stunt.” After a meeting today with Democratic members, Pelosi said negotiations with Boehner are continuing.
Democrat Chris Van Hollen of Maryland indicated after the meeting that a Democratic boycott is still possible. He says, “We don’t want a kangaroo court.” Another Democrat, Jim Clyburn of South Carolina, said, “If you’re going to have a hanging don’t ask me to bring the noose.” But fellow Democrat Henry Waxman of California says Democrats — in his words — “ought to be there every day, recording why it’s a sham.”
Republicans insist the Obama administration hasn’t come clean on what happened during and after the attack, in which the U.S. ambassador and three other Americans were killed.
%@AP Links
172-a-04-(House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., at news conference)-“a political stunt”-House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi says the GOP created the committee for a simple reason. (9 May 2014)
< 171-a-13-(House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., with reporters)-“an immigration bill”-House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi says the GOP goal is to score points for the upcoming elections. (9 May 2014) < 060-a-19-(House Speaker John Boehner (BAY’-nur), R-Ohio, during debate Thursday)-“accountability, or justice”-House Speaker John Boehner says a new House investigation into the Benghazi attack will be conducted fairly. ((note length of cut)) (9 May 2014) < 061-a-10-(Representative Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, R-Fla., during debate Thursday)-“simple, no politics”-Congresswoman Ileana Ros-Lehtinen says the special committee is the best way to find out what really happened. (9 May 2014) < APPHOTO DCJM204: House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., speaks at her weekly news briefing Friday, May 9, 2014, on Capitol Hill in Washington. House Democrats stand deeply divided over whether to participate in a Republican-led investigation of the deadly attack on the U.S. diplomatic mission in Benghazi, Libya, with party leader Nancy Pelosi calling the newest probe a “political stunt.” (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin) (9 May 2014) < APPHOTO WX105: Speaker of the House John Boehner is asked about the special select committee he has formed to investigate the deadly 2012 attack on the U.S. diplomatic post in Benghazi, Libya, raising the stakes in a political battle with the Obama administration as the midterm election season heats up, during a news conference on Capitol Hill in Washington, Thursday, May 8, 2014. To congressional Republicans, “Benghazi” is shorthand for incompetence and cover-up. Democrats hear it is as the hollow sound of pointless investigations. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite) (8 May 2014) < Copyright 2014 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.