Bill Johnson on the Benghazi Committee's Report

Statement

Rep. Bill Johnson (R-Marietta) today released the following statement in response to the publication of the final report from the Select Committee on Benghazi.

It's now very clear that the Obama Administration, including the State Department, knew the September 11, 2012, attacks in Benghazi were terrorism - yet Administration officials continued to falsely spin it as the fault of some video no one had ever seen. This intentional political misdirection started even before the attack was over. Secretary Clinton famously answered during her testimony before the Benghazi Committee, "what difference does it make?" Well, it makes a big difference to me, and I know it makes a difference to the American people.

This report allows the American people to make an informed judgement on the Obama Administration's handling of Benghazi -- a terrorist attack that happened less than two months before the 2012 presidential election, and an attack that didn't fit neatly into the President's campaign assertion that the world was safer and terrorists were on the run.

My primary takeaway from this extensive, year-and-a-half investigation is simple: Those who hold positions of responsibility, especially those key national decision makers, must do better for the men and women who volunteer to serve in harm's way every day. This was a failure at the most senior levels of our government - Americans deserve better.

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