Lance Statement on the Benghazi Whistleblower Hearing and Unanswered Questions

Statement

Congressman Leonard Lance (NJ-07) issued the following statement in response to yesterday's Benghazi whistleblower congressional hearing:

"Yesterday's hearing on the September 11 Benghazi attacks raises very serious questions about whether Administration officials have been completely forthcoming about the events leading up to the attacks in Libya and the handling of it afterward," said Congressman Leonard Lance. "Witness testimony given before the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee challenged several long-standing assertions by the Obama administration and give rise to new questions about whether the U.S. military could have done more to intervene during the terrorist attacks on Sept. 11, 2012."

According to news reports during the congressional testimony three State Department witnesses recounted in detail what happened in eastern Libya on Sept. 11 and how U.S. personnel came under a series of attacks that left four Americans dead -- including U.S. Ambassador Christopher Stevens. Though Obama Administration officials have argued the attack has been thoroughly investigated, today's testimony from a witness who was on the ground in Libya suggested that the State Department's own internal review into the attack was lacking.

Congressman Lance is a cosponsor of H.Res. 36 to create a special committee to investigate the terrorist attacks in Benghazi. The House Select Committee on the Terrorist Attack in Benghazi would be charged with investigating every aspect of the attack on the consulate in Benghazi. The members of the committee would include the chairmen and ranking members of the committees on Intelligence, Foreign Affairs, Armed Services, Judiciary, Homeland Security and Government Reform and Oversight, with other members appointed by House leaders based on expertise.

"Nearly eight months have passed since the terrorist attack in Benghazi that led to the deaths of Ambassador Stevens and three other Americans. I believe Congress has a responsibility to impanel a special investigative committee to get to the truth of the matter. The families of the victims of this terrorist attack and the American people deserve no less," concluded Lance.

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