Letter to Barack Obama, President of the United States - Declassifying Benghazi Material

Letter

Congressman Mike Pompeo, R-Kansas, a member of the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence, called on President Obama to declassify materials related to the Sept. 11, 2012 attack on the American consulate in Benghazi, Libya. In his letter to the President, Congressman Pompeo, a West Point graduate and former Army cavalry officer, notes that "much of the information regarding this attack can be safely declassified--information that will help provide much needed clarity to the American public."

Pompeo's request for declassification also noted that heavy redaction would fail to meet the need for greater transparency: "Redaction will only need to be used in very limited circumstances in order to protect the intelligence community while providing the American people the answer they deserve."

The full text of the letter is below:

Dear Mr. President:

The American people wrongly remain in the dark about the facts surrounding the attack on our consulate in Benghazi, Libya on September 11th, 2012. Many questions remain unanswered about the attack and the U.S. Government's response. To make matters worse, many falsehoods have been perpetrated in the media that need to be rebuked. The public is owed the truth, and I believe that your Administration can provide the clarity the American people deserve by declassifying certain documents related to this terrorist attack.

The House of Representatives continues to work hard to get to the truth. The five committees of jurisdiction have conducted a thorough investigation consisting of countless hearings, briefings, interviews, review of thousands of documents, and travel across the region in search of answers. In particular, the committee on which I sit, the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence, has held numerous hearings and briefings in search of the truth about what actually happened during the attack and its aftermath.

Over the course of this investigation, I have concluded that much of the information regarding this attack can be safely declassified--information that will help provide much needed clarity to the American public. As a former Army officer and current member of the Intelligence Committee, I am very sensitive to the needs of the national security community to protect sources, methods and ongoing operations. However, I am confident that redaction will only need to be used in very limited circumstances in order to protect the intelligence community while providing the American people the answer they deserve.

Our ambassador and three other Americans were killed in this attack. The American people deserve to have access to all necessary information in order for them to have a complete picture of what happened that night.

Thank you for your immediate attention to this most important matter.

Sincerely,

Mike Pompeo
Member of Congress

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