Benghazi 'Disconnect': State Dept. Ignored Pleas
New emails show a "total disconnect" between Hillary Clinton's State Department and the U.S. envoy in the lead up to the 2012 terrorist attack on U.S. consulate in Benghazi, Libya.
That assessment comes from the chairman of the House committee investigating Benghazi ahead of Clinton's long-awaited public testimony this Thursday.
Four Americans died in that September 11, 2012 attack, including U.S. Ambassador Chris Stevens.
Rep. Trey Gowdy, R-S.C., said Stevens was begging for more security immediately after he arrived in Libya.
But instead of sending help, the State Department sent emails about public relations and talking points.
"He didn't need help with (public relations)," Gowdy said on CBS' "Face the Nation." "He was asking for more security."
After the State Department ignored his pleas for help, Stevens said, "Maybe we should ask another government to pay for our security upgrades because our government isn't willing to do it."
Meanwhile, Gowdy is also blasting fellow Republicans who have implied that the Benghazi investigation was only about undermining Clinton's political future.
"I have told my own Republican colleagues and friends, 'Shut up talking about things that you don't know anything about,'" Gowdy told "Face the Nation."
Gowdy insists that his investigation is focused on the events before, during, nd after the deadly attacks. On Sunday, he cast Clinton as "just one out of 70" witnesses and suggested her testimony is of equal value with the others, at best.
He said he's only interested in Clinton's testimony because she was secretary of state at the time of the attacks, so "you have to talk to her," Gowdy said.
