Post by warrior1972 on Jan 27, 2015 19:51:41 GMT -8
The chairman of the House select committee investigating the deadly 2012 attack on the U.S. Consulate in Benghazi, Libya defended himself against criticism from Democrats that he had excluded them from meetings with witnesses.
In a strongly worded letter, Rep. Elijah Cummings, D-Md., claimed that Rep. Trey Gowdy, R-S.C., has used different standards for Republicans and Democrats and has held secret meetings with witnesses from the State Department and other agencies.
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"Perhaps most importantly," Cummings wrote in a Jan. 23 letter, Gowdy has "withheld or downplayed information when it undermines the allegations we are investigating." The Associated Press obtained a copy of the letter, which comes before the panel is set to hold its third public hearing Tuesday.
Late Monday, Gowdy responded that he had the authority to unilaterally subpoena witnesses, but but he promised to give Democrats a week's notice before issuing such a subpoena.
"Bipartisanship is a two-way street," Gowdy said in a letter to Cummings. "I have known you to be a fair partner and expect for that cooperation to continue."
"No congressional select committee has ever had a requirement that sources meet with both sides at the same time, and the Benghazi Committee is no exception," committee spokesman Jamal Ware said in a statement. "Further, that the Democrats have released correspondence that attempts to politically characterize sources’ private discussions with the committee without proper context goes to the exact heart of why the Chairman will not require sources to talk to both sides."
Gowdy has said he will pursue the facts of the Sept. 11, 2012, attack on a U.S. post in eastern Libya that killed Chris Stevens, the U.S. ambassador, and three other Americans.
"Facts are neither Republican for Democrat," he said when the panel was created last May.
www.foxnews.com/politics/2015/01/26/benghazi-select-committee-leaders-spar-over-witness-interviews/
