“We are not recommending any policy other than one exception. That is, if the United States decides to arm the Syrian rebels with lethal weapons, not just defensive weaponry, that those rebels and those weapons be very carefully vetted. We had a very bad experience with Libya where shoulder-fired missiles went disappeared very quickly and showed up in our backyard. We don’t want that to happen again in Syria.”

APRIL 27th 2013 –  It was revealed for the first time today that the body of murdered Ambassador J. Christopher Stevens was recovered by a secret two man Special “Ops” team that was not affiliated with any of the other security entities involved in the Benghazi attack..

This team, acting under their own initiative and armed with their own weapons, undertook this mission despite very little intelligence available for this exceedingly hostile and volatile environment. The information came to light this morning on WVOX’s Vernuccio/Allison radio show.

The previously undisclosed information was provided by former Army Ranger Jack Murphy who is the co-author along with Brandon Webb of Benghazi: The Definitive Report. (more…)

WASHINGTON DC – Rep. Trey Gowdy (R-S.C.) on Saturday promised that “explosive” congressional hearings over the Benghazi, Libya attacks are on the way.

“There are more Benghazi hearings coming, I think they’re going to be explosive,” Gowdy said on Fox News.

Gowdy, a member of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, said the hearings are going to be “coming quickly” and seemed to hint that the public might for the first time hear from witnesses to the September assault that left four Americans dead. (more…)

The FBI works for, and falls under the authority of, the Federal Department of Justice, Eric Holder.   Which brings in a strange series of questions regarding the stoppage of questioning by the FBI of Dzhokhar Tsarnaev.   Megyn Kelly outlines the initial issue:

Initially the feds proclaimed Tsarnaev would fall under the “public safety exception to miranda” which would have given them 48 hours to question him prior to the delivery of Miranda protection.   The feds didn’t even need to charge him with anything right away – but they did.   In addition, something, obviously unexpected by the FBI interrogators, was changed.  Who changed it? Why? and why was the FBI not notified of the intent to change direction?

Boston AP [excerpt] … Once Dzhokhar Tsarnaev was read his rights on Monday, he immediately stopped talking, according to four officials of both political parties who were briefed on the interrogation but insisted on anonymity because the briefing was private. (more…)

It’s not a question of whether former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton lied, she did.   But, again we knew that at the time – the latest information from the Congressional Hearing report only confirms it.

The bigger question is what are they going to do about it?

WASHINGTON DC – House Republicans released their report on the investigation into the Benghazi terrorist attack, having concluded that then-Secretary of State Hillary Clinton was not telling the truth when she told Congress that she wasn’t aware that officials at the U.S. mission in Benghazi had requested extra security.

“The specific security requests pertaining to Benghazi, you know were handled by the security professionals in the department,” Clinton told Congress in January. “I didn’t see those requests, they didn’t come to me, I didn’t approve them, I didn’t deny them.”

The House report suggests that Clinton received a request for more security from Gene Cretz, who preceded Christopher Stevens as ambassador to Libya. (more…)

This story, today’s headline, and how the Treepers review it, is what makes the Treehouse different – As pointed out by Treeper Woohoowee the House Report is an example of presenting information “as if” the desire of the GOP is to reveal the Truth – It is NOT.   The GOP report completely skips the issues of 9/11, 9/12, 9/13 and 9/14 2012 and instead focuses on the “why did the administration change the narrative” beginning 9/15/12.

The congressional report completely skips the heart of the matter in a politically motivated attempt to rebut a series of known lies, misleading statements, and false claims.  In doing so, the report, and those who wrote it, do a horrid injustice to the quest for TRUTH.

However, we hold no predisposition of avoidance.

A Typical Media Report of the Congressional finding looks like this:  House Republicans have concluded that Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton was responsible for cutting security at the consulate in Benghazi ahead of last year’s attack there, and that the administration lied about why it downplayed terrorism as the cause of the assault. (more…)

CBS News has learned that multiple new whistleblowers are privately speaking to investigators with the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee regarding the Sept. 11, 2012 terrorist attacks on the U.S. compounds in Benghazi, Libya.

The nature of the communications with the whistleblowers and their identities are not being made public at this time. But in response, the Oversight Committee yesterday sent letters to the three federal agencies involved: the CIA, the Defense Department and the State Department.

• Six months later, where are the Benghazi survivors?
• Man questioned in Libya over Benghazi attack

The letters make the case for the whistleblowers to be able to share sensitive or classified information with their own attorneys, and ask for each agency’s official description of the legal steps that process must follow. The letters also state that additional witnesses may be “compelled by subpoena to give testimony.”  (link to CBS continued reporting)

.

WASHINGTON DC – There is only one certainty surrounding the terrorist attack that occurred in Benghazi, Libya last September 11th: seven months later, the American people and the families of the victims and wounded still do not know all the facts and specifics that resulted in the murder of Ambassador Christopher Stevens and three other American heroes. However, I am cautiously optimistic that momentum is building this week in the quest for the truth.

In separate letters to Members of the U.S. House of Representatives, the groups Special Operations Speaks and Operational Security (OpSec), along with 700 retired military special operations personnel, urged support for House Resolution 36 which is being sponsored by senior Republican Congressman Frank Wolf (R-VA). House Resolution 36, if passed, would create a select congressional committee to thoroughly investigate the terrorist attacks in Benghazi and what the Obama Administration did and didn’t do. (more…)

(via Mediaite)  On Friday, Sean Hannity brought Pat Smith, mother of the late Sean Smith, on his radio program. The 34-year-old information management officer was one of four Americans murdered in the Benghazi embassy attack on September 11, 2012.

In the chilling interview, a distraught Ms. Smith, in tears, pleaded for answers and spoke of the efforts to silence her.

Ms. Smith first relayed how her son, prior to the attack, requested additional security in advance and warned the State Department:

He did tell them, ahead of time, he typed it into his little typewriter over there, that they were going to be attacked, ‘please they needed more security,’ and they were ignored. And I don’t appreciate everybody going to bed and going to sleep and not taking care of the guys that they put in harm’s way, one of them being my son. (more…)

(Hat Tip WeaselZippers)   The ideology of what Egypt has become continues to play out on the world stage…  An Egypt fully supported by President Obama.

CAIRO (AP) — A mob threw rocks and fired birdshot Sunday at several hundred Christians marching in a protest against Egypt’s Islamist government after the funeral of four Christians killed in sectarian clashes over the weekend.

The Christians were chanting slogans against Islamist President Mohammed Morsi, just as several thousand did earlier during the funeral service nearby in the Coptic Orthodox cathedral in Cairo.

The attacking mob, described by witnesses as residents of the area, forced the marchers to take shelter inside the sprawling cathedral complex. They also showered the protesters with rocks from the roofs of nearby buildings, according to witness Ibrahim el-Shareef. (more…)