Panel devolves

Benghazi panel devolves into partisan war over transcripts

By Rachael Bade

 

The House Benghazi Committee on Wednesday night erupted in a partisan spat after Chairman Trey Gowdy (R-S.C) sharply restricted the ability of Democrats to access witness transcripts and accused the minority party of planning to release them prematurely — a threat Gowdy says would cripple his probe. 

Committee Democrats, under the lead of Maryland Rep. Elijah Cummings, were enraged by the move and argued that Republicans are trying to cut them out while the majority party writes a partisan report.

“Republicans are so desperate to keep us from sharing these facts with the public, they denied Democrats any access to some of these witness transcripts for weeks,” Cummings said in a statement. “Republicans are writing a secret, partisan report that they plan to make public shortly before the election — and they are violating House Rules in order to try to silence Democrats from putting out the facts before then.” 

Earlier, in a Wednesday letter, Gowdy told committee Democrats that he would allow them to read the transcripts of recent witness testimony during business hours. But Democrats would no longer be able to take custody of the material unless they promised not to release them until after the panel publicizes its findings. 

Gowdy has said he expects to produce a final report sometime this spring or summer. 

“As recently as this afternoon, I offered Mr. Cummings total, unfettered access to, and control of, transcripts if he simply agreed he would not selectively leak them,” Gowdy said in a statement. “He would not give me that assurance. Democrats have threatened to leak more transcripts and therefore I have no choice but to protect past witnesses, future witnesses, confidential material and the integrity of the investigation by allowing the Democrats equitable access but not control.”

Democrats scoffed at that requirement. 

“Democrats on the Select Committee will not agree to conditions that prevent us from putting out the facts that witnesses have told the Committee in order to rebut the conspiracy theories about Benghazi,” Cummings said in the statement.

Democrats say the change goes against House Rules that require Democratic members and staff to “be accorded equitable treatment with respect to … the accessibility of committee records.”

Gowdy said he checked with the House parliamentarian before acting and was told he was well within his rights as panel chairman.

The partisan exchange comes as the committee continues its almost two-year long investigation into the deaths of four Americans in Libya. Democrats say the GOP is seeking only to cripple Hillary Clinton in the polls; Republicans say the left is just trying to protect the former secretary of state. 

The recent argument foreshadows more to come as the panel prepares to release its findings in the coming months.