Executive Summary

[My comments are in bracketed blue italics.]

The Democratic Members of the Benghazi Select Committee submit this report in honor of the memories of Ambassador Christopher Stevens, Sean Smith, Tyrone Woods, and Glen Doherty; the other extraordinary heroes in Benghazi and Tripoli who risked life and limb to help their fellow Americans; and the men and women of the Defense Department, State Department, and Intelligence Community who serve the United States every day around the world.

[This report dishonors the memories of those who lost their lives, were injured, and those who lost their careers over the terrorist attack in Benghazi, Libya. To pretend otherwise is to engage in Orwellian political speech where up is down, black is white, and good is evil.]

We deeply regret that this report is not bipartisan. In May, we asked Chairman Trey Gowdy to work with us on a joint report with conclusions we could all agree on, followed by areas on which we may disagree. We also offered to provide him with a draft of our report in advance. But Chairman Gowdy mocked our request as “mildly amusing.”

[The minority members, rabid partisans seeking to protect the Obama Administration at any cost originally told us to move along, there is nothing to see here. At every turn, they obstructed the work of the committee and, in many cases, refused to participate in the process except to put forth disinformation that served no purpose other than to confuse and conflate the issues at hand. What they deeply regret is that they could not hide the truth, only delay its appearance.]

We are issuing our own report today because, after spending more than two years and $7 million in taxpayer funds in one of the longest and most partisan congressional investigations in history, it is long past time for the Select Committee to conclude its work. Despite our repeated requests over the last several months, Republicans have refused to provide us with a draft of their report—or even a basic outline—making it impossible for us to provide input and obvious that we are being shut out of the process until the last possible moment.

[It took two years because the Obama Administration and key public officials stonewalled the committee by refusing to provide witnesses and documents in a timely manner. Often requiring a subpoena which mocked the Administration’s promises of full and complete cooperation. As for $7 million, over $100 million has gone missing and remains unaccountable in various Administration activities. Most elected officials would declare that $7 million was not even worth convening a committee to oversee its expenditure.

As for the Republicans not releasing a copy of their report, it is precisely for the reason that this report was release: to discredit and deflect the findings of the committee.]

Our overarching conclusion is that the evidence obtained by the Select Committee
confirms the core findings already issued by many previous investigations into the attacks in Benghazi. Although the Select Committee obtained additional details that provide context and granularity, these details do not fundamentally alter the previous conclusions.

[In essence, the minority is saying “nothing to see here, move along.” Don’t even waste your time reading “their” report.]

Section I of our report begins by highlighting the bravery of our first responders on the
night of the attacks. U.S. personnel in Benghazi and Tripoli conducted themselves with
extraordinary courage and heroism and at grave personal risk to defend and rescue their fellow Americans. Our report provides poignant new details about how their actions saved lives.

[What about the CIA officer who originally denied permission for his men to rescue the stricken Americans under attack. Forcing them to disobey direct orders and attempt a rescue. What about the leaders of quick reaction teams who were immediately removed from command under suspicious circumstances? It also believed that someone in the State Department was seeking military assistance, but only if the responders were in civilian clothes and used local vehicles. Something was definitely being covered up at the highest levels.]

Our report makes 21 findings based on the evidence we obtained, and it debunks many
conspiracy theories about the attacks. In general, the report finds:

The Defense Department could not have done anything differently on the night of the
attacks that would have saved the lives of the four brave Americans killed in
Benghazi, and although the military’s global posture prevented it from responding
more quickly that night, improvements were made years ago.

[This is a lie! The Commanders In Extremis Force was at the ready, but was ordered not to intervene. What about the offer of assistance from nearby British special forces? Where were the people who were paid to protect the compound and why weren’t the punished for their desertion?]

The State Department’s security measures in Benghazi were woefully inadequate as a result of decisions made by officials in the Bureau of Diplomatic Security, but
Secretary Clinton never personally denied any requests for additional security in
Benghazi.

[Secretary Clinton, as the head of the State Department, remains responsible for all actions that occurred on her watch. It does not matter if she personally denied the requests for help – which I have a hard time believing that Christopher Stevens did not make to her directly. But, perhaps those emails were deleted or lost? None of these functionaries received lasting punishment for actions that resulted in the death and injury of Americans, and the loss of government property.]

The Intelligence Community’s assessments evolved after the attacks as more
information became available, but they were not influenced by political
considerations.

[It is apparent that someone concocted false and misleading talking points and that while Clinton Daughter Chelsea knew the truth, the Americans were fed a load of bullpucky by the highest elected and appointed officials in the government.]

Administration officials did not make intentionally misleading statements about the attacks, but instead relied on information they were provided at the time under fast moving circumstances.

[This is a bald-faced lie -- proven over the months subsequent to the attack and proof that the Administration has real time evidence of the true nature of the attack and still chose to lie to the American people.]

There are some findings this report does not make. For example, an offensive, anti-
Muslim video sparked protests and anti-American violence in Cairo and throughout the region, but it remains unclear to this day precisely what motivated all of the individuals in Benghazi on the night of the attacks.

[Another lie. It appears that this was a terrorist attack on a lightly-guarded compound known to be involved in providing military-grade weapons to rebel terrorist groups. As such it was a legitimate target and not some random occurrence by dissidents out for a walk with mortars.]

During his interview with the Select Committee just this past March, the former Director of the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), General David Petraeus, told us: I’m still not absolutely certain what absolutely took place, whether it was a mix of people that are demonstrating with attackers in there, whether this is an organized demonstration to launch an attack, whether—because you’ll recall, there’s a lot of SIGINT [signals intelligence] that we uncovered that very clearly seemed to indicate that there was a protest and it grew out of the protest. … And there is a video of what took place. And they are just basically milling around out there. So if this is an attack, you know, maybe they rehearsed it to look like a protest, but maybe it was actually a mix. And so, again, I’m still not completely set in my own mind of what—and to be candid with you, I am not sure that the amount of scrutiny spent on this has been in the least bit worth it.

[Pure political bafflegab from an Administration official.]

Section II of our report documents the grave abuses that Select Committee Republicans
engaged in during this investigation.

[This section is partisan bullpucky and not worth commenting on.]