ICYMI: What people are saying about Hillary at the Benghazi hearings
Even the very worst job interview you’ve ever had can’t come close to what former-Secretary of State and current presidential hopeful, Hillary Clinton, had to endure yesterday.
Clinton sat opposite a Republican panel meant to investigate her diplomatic decisions surrounding the mission in Benghazi, Libya in 2012. For almost 11 hours, the panel, often emotional and hostile, dove deep into the questions surrounding the scandal.
While there is a lot to sort through, and the whole thing is pretty complicated, the gist is this: in 2012, a diplomatic outpost in Benghazi was overrun by terrorists and the attacks lasted two days, killing four Americans that were there at the time. There has been a lot of suspicion and doubt surrounding how requests for support and resources were handled by the State Department. Some critics suggest that the American deaths could have been avoided had Clinton made different, better informed, decisions.
The hearing is meant to shed light on whether or not Clinton didn’t do her job as Secretary of State properly, causing the Americans to lose their lives as a result. Some suggest she is the responsible party, but she denies those allegations, naturally, saying she did every thing within her power to aid the people in the Benghazi outpost.
One of the more vocal investigators, Trey Gowdy of South Carolina said in his opening, “”Why were there so many requests for security equipment and personnel, and why were those requests denied in Washington?” He demanded, “What did our leaders in Washington do or not do, and when?
Clinton maintained her composure through most of the monotonous questioning, only getting upset when the panel called into question the integrity of two of her colleagues who led a previous hearing on the Benghazi mission. When Republican panel members brought up the legitimacy of those findings, Clinton snapped, “I will not sit here and hear that.”
As the hearing ran into its tenth hour, Clinton was visibly tired and was nursing a hoarse and scratchy throat. It wasn’t until the last-minute that the panel invoked the email scandal, but to not much fanfare.
Essentially Clinton, according to The New York Times, “took responsibility for the attacks in which they died, but insisted that as secretary of state, she had never personally approved or denied requests for extra security for the facility where they were based. And she told lawmakers that the United States must not back away from assertive diplomacy because of the episode.”
She told lawmakers that “retreat from the world is not an option,” and communicated to them, and the world watching, that she has been deeply moved and personally affected by the deaths in Benghazi, and “has lost more sleep than all you.”
Many analysts are suggesting that the hearing left Clinton “largely unscathed,” but it could still have an effect on her campaign, even though she is the Democratic frontrunner right now. No matter what though, we’re sure she’s relieved to have the hearing behind her.
Related reading:
Lena Dunham interviewed Hillary Clinton(!) and here’s a sneak peek
12-year-old feminist writes brilliant letter to Hillary Clinton (and Hillary Clinton responds)
[Image via Twitter]
