◼ What should have been stretched across several days to give the nation time to digest it all, was instead packed into a single day packed with an overwhelming amount of information. The media’s attention span is not that long. - Bryan Preston/PJM
Nevertheless, for those who slogged through the entire day of hearings and ignored local crime stories, new information was there to be learned.
1. There were multiple stand-down orders, not just one. Special Operations forces were told, twice, by their chain of command not to board aircraft or to to Benghazi to rescue the Americans then under attack....◼ BENGHAZI WHISTLEBLOWER: “THE YOUTUBE VIDEO WAS A NON-EVENT IN LIBYA.” - John Hayward/Human Events @Doc_o
2. Ambassador Stevens’ reason for going to Benghazi has been cleared up....
3. Clinton was briefed at 2 am on the night of the attack, was never told that a movie had anything to do with the attack by those on the ground in Libya, yet blamed the movie anyway....
4. Whistleblowers were intimidated into silence.
5. “The YouTube movie was a non-event in Libya.”
6. Democrats were uninterested in getting at most of the facts, but were very interested in destroying Mark Thompson.
7. House hearings are a poor way to determine who did what and why during and after the attack.
◼ WHISTLEBLOWER: HILLARY'S STATE DEPT. TOLD ME NOT TO TALK TO CONGRESS - Ben Shapiro/The Blaze
◼ Partisan politics, little new information at House Benghazi hearing - LA Times
◼ Benghazi: How Do You Explain the Inexplicable? - Rush via Lucianne
◼ Benghazi Whistleblower: ‘I Was Stunned’ That Amb. Rice Blamed a Video, 'My Jaw Dropped' - Elizabeth Harrington/Cybercast News Service
◼ Emotional Testimony Recalls Benghazi Attacks - SIOBHAN HUGHES and ADAM ENTOUS/Wall St. Journal
◼ We Live in an Upside-Down World: TV Networks Ignore Benghazi Hearings - Rush
◼ Congressman Elijah Cummings Sums Up Benghazi: "Death is a Part of Life" - Rush
◼ NYT Public Editor Says Paper Playing Down Benghazi; Dismissive Hearing Coverage Vindicates Her Concern - Clay Waters/Newsbusters
◼ Secret email reveals top official told Libya's president that terrorists were behind Benghazi attack - four days BEFORE U.S. Ambassador to UN said it was a spontaneous attack - DAVID MARTOSKO IN WASHINGTON/Daily Mail
◼ FIVE KEY POINTS FROM TODAY'S BENGHAZI HEARING - Joel Pollak/Breitbart
◼ Official holds back tears during emotional Benghazi testimony - The Hill
◼ Fox News Carries Benghazi Hearing Wall-to-Wall; CNN Joins at Noon and MSNBC Is Last - Scott Whitlock/Newsbusters
◼ What have we learned so far the from Benghazi hearing: - Bookworm Room
1. Security support was denied before and during the September 11, 2012 terrorist attack on the US Benghazi Consulate by the State department.
2. Ambassador Stevens’ last words “Greg, we are under attack!” [To Greg Hicks - his second in command in Tripoli]
3. It was clear to everyone in Libya that this was a coordinated attack – NOT a demonstration over an obscure YouTube anti Islam video.
4. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton talked to Mr. Hicks – then the top diplomat in Libya – during and after the attack. She knew exactly what was going on.
5. During the attack, President Obama did not speak once with the Pentagon, and most likely went to bed while a US embassy was under attack.
6. Five days later UN ambassador Susan Rice in a media campaign orchestrated by State tells the world repeatedly that this was a demonstration over the anti Islam video – no one consulted Gerg Hicks – now the top diplomat in Libya over the talking points.
7. The obscure movie maker is jailed (and is still in jail in California)
8. Greg Hicks – the top diplomat in Libya – is shocked and embarrassed by Susan Rice’s appearances. When he raises the issue with his superiors at State they turn hostile.
9. When a congressional investigation team comes to Libya, Greg Hicks – still the top diplomat in Libya – is ordered by State Department lawyers for the first time in his 22 year long career not to talk to a Congressional committee. A State Department lawyer is sent along with the committee to make sure Hicks is kept away.
10. When he does talk to the committee, a furious Hillary Clinton’s chief of staff, Cheryl Mills, calls Hicks and demands an explanation and a report.
11. Gregory Hicks – a diplomat with a stellar record – has been harassed by the State Department and has not had an appointment since the Benghazi affair.
