Benghazi panel chairman doubles down on Clinton testimony

The chairman of the House Select Committee on Benghazi repeated his calls Wednesday for former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton to appear before his panel, saying he has many questions for her.

{mosads}Rep. Trey Gowdy (R-S.C.) said he has “three tranches” of questions for Clinton, beginning with “the designation of our facility in Benghazi which met no security standards whatsoever. Why was it open?”

He also wants to ask Clinton, the nation’s No. 1 diplomat at the time, what she was doing before the 2012 attacks, which left four Americans dead.

“Secretary Clinton ran an ad during the 2008 campaign about a 3:00 in the morning phone call. Well, that phone call came. I think it’s fair to ask, Madam Secretary, what did you do during the pendency of those attacks?” Gowdy said during an interview with Fox News’s “On The Record.”

And “of course” he wants to inquire about the administration’s talking points immediately following the attacks that attributed the incident to a controversial Web video.

Benghazi could prove to be a political third rail for Clinton, the front-runner for the Democratic presidential nomination in 2016. Republicans have chastised her for her handling of the attacks and argue the security failure at the U.S. complex in Libya should keep her out of the White House.

Another Capitol Hill appearance by Clinton, which would be her third on Benghazi, could provide the GOP fresh ammunition just as the presidential race is set to begin.

On Wednesday Rep. Adam Schiff (Calif.), one of the panel’s five Democrats, said Republicans were “trying to run the clock” on the probe to influence the 2016 election.

Gowdy pushed back against that charge. “I don’t want it to go into 2016 politics,” he said.

Gowdy’s comments are the latest in what has been a rollercoaster week for the committee. On Wednesday, Democrats accused the chairman of threatening to subpoena 22 State Department officials, despite a letter from the agency saying the administration would work with the panel.

A spokesman for Gowdy responded, announcing he had chosen not to issue the subpoenas based on the State Department’s commitment to provide the requested witnesses “on an acceptable timeframe.”