If you have followed our Benghazi research, and read the Benghazi Brief, it appears Gowdy has all the key players listed for interviews. However, another key element for the interviews is going to be the sequencing.
Panetta must be interviewed first because it was he and Hillary who developed and executed “operation zero footprint” in Libya; Hillary should be questioned last. This approach puts the primary constructionists, the “whys”, as bookends – the other interviewees fill in the details as to who, what, where and when.
Tom Donilon’s interview serves one primary function – he was the link between Hillary (state dept) and Obama (white house) – he was, and “is”, the last layer of plausible deniability protection from the president; Donilon was also Hillary’s designated contact to be liaison between what she was doing, and informing POTUS.
Tommy Vietor worked for Tom Donilon, and it was Vietor and Donilon who were in the situation room on 9/11/12 conveying information to Denis McDonough, Obama’s Chief of Staff. Hillary was in her DC office that afternoon when events erupted and told to stay away from the White House.
Just like Ambassador Stevens and Sean Smith, Hillary Clinton was out beyond the wire and Donilon/McDonough knew she was an immediate sunlight risk if she came to the White House. Clinton was off the range, this was 100% her porcelain baby, when it crashed the White House told her she owned it.
WASHINGTON DC – A special House committee looking into the deadly Benghazi, Libya, attacks in 2012 will interview a host of current and former high-ranking Obama administration officials as it speeds the pace of the investigation.
The panel’s chairman, Rep. Trey Gowdy, R-S.C., said Friday he intends to interview 20 high-ranking officials, including former Defense Secretary Leon Panetta and former CIA director David Petraeus, as well as White House chief of staff Denis McDonough and national security adviser Susan Rice.
The list also includes former White House press secretary Jay Carney; Army Gen. Martin Dempsey, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff; and former national security adviser Thomas Donilon.
Gowdy has previously said he will ask former Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton to testify at a public hearing before the 12-member committee. He said Friday that appearance should occur “as soon as possible.” Clinton is widely expected to run for president in 2016.
Gowdy also said he wants to interview Cheryl Mills, a longtime Clinton aide who was her chief of staff when the attacks occurred at the U.S. diplomatic outpost in Benghazi.
Gowdy said last week he was frustrated at the slow pace of the investigation and was going to “ratchet it up.”
He said Friday that the interviews with the high-ranking officials will begin as soon as April, after the panel interviews 22 potential witnesses who work for the State Department or have knowledge of the attacks.
Gowdy called the timeline for new interviews “ambitious” but said he intends to “stay with this schedule and will issue subpoenas if necessary.” (read more)
If you have not read the Benghazi Brief you cannot fully grasp the scope of how difficult it is going to be to expose the actual issues within the Libya story leading up to the Benghazi attack.
“The Benghazi Brief“
The ‘National Security’ aspect creates a shield of protection from sunlight. However, there are actual State Department operations -conducted jointly with the CIA- that can be brought forward, and force Hillary Clinton to admit what she was doing.