Clinton Defends Her Actions During the Attack on the U.S. Consulate in Libya

Hillary Clinton, former U.S. Secretary of State, defended her decisions during the attack on the U.S. consulate in Benghazi on Thursday, October 21, and urged questioning representatives in the House investigation committee to prioritize national interests over politics. Republicans in the House investigation committee accused the 2016 presidential candidate of providing misleading information to the public regarding the reasons behind the attack by Islamist militants on the U.S. consulate in Libya. In the 2012 attack, Christopher Stevens, the U.S. ambassador, and three other American citizens were killed. According to Reuters, Republican Representative Jim Jordan stated that Clinton incorrectly described the attack as a reaction to the release of an anti-Islam video. Clinton denied that such a video was the reason for the attack, calling Jordan's accusation "personally painful." The former Secretary of State said, "I have thought more about what happened than all of you (representatives). I have lost more sleep than all of you representatives. I was racking my brain about what could have been done, what should have been done." Clinton told the House investigation committee that the Benghazi attack should not undermine U.S. actions globally and that a thorough investigation had already been conducted regarding the incident. She added, "We need leadership at home that is on par with our leadership abroad, management that prioritizes national security over politics and ideology." Clinton defended her actions as a senior diplomat regarding the Benghazi incident and rejected longstanding Republican accusations that she personally ignored requests for increased security measures at the U.S. consulate. The House investigation committee, which includes seven Republican and five Democratic representatives, has been investigating the Benghazi incident for 17 months. Her appearance before this committee is a major political test for Clinton, who appeared stronger than others in the first Democratic presidential debate last week, while Joe Biden, the Vice President, who was considered a serious potential rival, announced that he would not run for the presidency. Many Democrats have accused the Republican-led congressional investigation committee of seeking to undermine Hillary Clinton's image ahead of next year's presidential election. She served as Secretary of State under Barack Obama from 2009 to 2013. Elijah Cummings, the senior Democratic representative at the session, stated that congressional Republicans formed this committee for partisan hunting. He addressed Hillary Clinton, saying, "Madam Secretary, they have formed this committee irrelevantly, as you are campaigning for the presidency."