The Tennessean - Rep. Scott DesJarlais: 'Cover-up' questions about Benghazi remain

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By Paul C. Barton

Whistle-blowers' testimony about the handling of terrorism threats to U.S. personnel in Libya last year indicates high-level Obama administration officials still have much to answer for, Rep. Scott DesJarlais said Wednesday.

DesJarlais, R-Jasper, participated in questioning three State Department whistle-blowers as a member of the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform.

Three State Department officials, led by Gregory Hicks, former deputy chief of mission in Benghazi, testified about their frustration and anger as they watched the administration fail to make any significant effort to protect U.S. diplomatic personnel during a terrorist attack last year. The administration, they said, also made statements afterward that misled the American public.

Ambassador Chris Stephens was one of four Americans killed when terrorists overran the U.S. consulate in Benghazi on Sept. 11, 2012.

"I don't think this is going to go away," DesJarlais said in an interview afterward.

DesJarlais commented as critics of the hearing said the Republican-led committee produced no significant new revelations about last year's events and served mainly as a high-profile witch hunt to try to embarrass the Obama administration.

The Tennessee congressman, now in his second term, disagreed.

"Today's hearing is about finding the truth," DesJarlais told Hicks, adding that families of those connected to the outpost remain anxious for more information.

And afterward, DesJarlais said many in the State and Defense departments remain angry about decisions to call off last-minute actions that might have helped protect consulate personnel.

He said it may be necessary for the panel to hear from Leon Panetta, former Secretary of Defense, and Adm. Michael Mullen, former chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, about what prevented military assistance that night.

Some lower-level administration officials wonder why at least fighter jets could not have been scrambled, the congressman said.

"Was it a political cover-up?" also remains central to the committee's inquiry, DesJarlais said. The Benghazi attack came less than two months before last year's presidential election.

During the hearing, DesJarlais criticized President Barack Obama for allowing then-United Nations Envoy Susan Rice to go on television days after the attack and blame it on a mob reaction to a YouTube.com video.

Obama usually admonishes against "knee-jerk" reactions to events, he said. "Why didn't he do it in this case?"

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