Expending more time than the 645-day gestation period of, appropriately, an elephant, the Republican Benghazi committee on Tuesday gave birth to a report notable only for its 800-page size.
Do not mistake size for new, revealing substance about the 2012 attack on a U.S. compound in Libya that took four American lives.
The conservative echo chamber has long railed about Benghazi in attempts to “get” President Obama and/or Secretary of State Hillary Clinton during her march toward the Democratic presidential nomination.
Committee Chairman Rep. Trey Gowdy famously flamed out in subjecting Clinton to marathon prosecutorial hearings. The House majority leader, Representative Kevin McCarthy, boasted that the committee had hurt Clinton in the polls.
Last week, Donald Trump declared that Clinton was asleep during the attack and didn’t contribute to any response that may have saved lives. Not just factually wrong, it’s absurd: The attack began mid-afternoon Washington time.
Earlier, younger Trumpster Eric Trump said voters should be required to see Michael Bay’s “13 Hours” movie with its intentionally slanted take on Benghazi.
Topping all, Trump executive vice president Michael Cohen tweeted out that Clinton had “murdered an ambassador.”
Actually, the committee report is far more sober — as it would have to be coming after seven earlier probes into the same events.
The document holds Obama, White House aides, the defense and state departments to the same failings as observed before. Security was unforgivably lax. The military responded far too slowly, although a faster response would not have saved lives. The administration put out misleading, if not false, accounts for the events.
All involved, including Clinton, must be held to account for their true roles and responsibilities. The committee had its opportunity, but, in going all out to smear political opponents, conservatives undermined what could have been constructive criticism of an administration’s response to a crisis.
