Thursday, May 1, 2014

John Boehner calls on John Kerry to testify, and to explain, why the Obama administration defied Subpoena Request, withheld Benghazi Emails

In a press release on Thursday, House Speaker John Boehner called on Secretary of State John Kerry to testify before Congress after the White House refused to explain why documents related to the administration’s phony explanation of the 2012 terrorist attack in Benghazi were not sent to Congress in response to a congressional subpoena issued last year.

Judicial Watch recently obtained some of the documents through a Freedom of Information Act lawsuit. But unfortunately, the Obama administration redacted most of the information in these documents which makes it virtually impossible to probe the White House cover-up. Nevertheless, among the newly obtained, and largely redacted documents was a Sept. 14, 2012, email from Ben Rhodes, an assistant to the president and deputy national security adviser for strategic communications in which Mr. Rhodes lists a number of strategic and political talking points to be used by the administration to deflect criticism of the President's handling of the Benghazi debacle.

Among the phony talking points that were to be used, as per Mr. Rhode's directive, was the fictitious claim that the horrific violence emanated from an anti-Islam Internet video, and was "not a broader failure of policy."

In his statement on Thursday, Mr. Boehner asserted:
“Someone needs to answer why this administration hid these documents – and tell the American people what else is being concealed.

The House used its subpoena power to obtain documents, including emails, last year, but these emails didn’t show up until now, after a court ordered their release to an outside watchdog group.

This defiance of the House’s subpoena power is the most flagrant example yet of the administration's contempt for the American people’s right to know the truth about what happened when four Americans died in a fiery terrorist attack. If the White House won’t explain it, Secretary Kerry should come to the Capitol to explain why he defied an official congressional subpoena. And the White House needs to understand that this investigation will not end until the entire truth is revealed and justice and accountability are served.”
However, as I noted earlier, the newly obtained documents on Benghazi that Judicial Watch received have been largely redacted by the Obama administration, making it virtually impossible to probe the true nature of the White House cover-up.

Will the administration adhere to the law, obey congress' subpoena order and hand over all the documents?

Probably not; the Obama administration is not subject to the laws of the land. Nevertheless, unless congress can obtain the documents in their original, unredacted form, well - to paraphrase a quote from Hillary Clinton - what difference does it make anyway?