Direction of Our Country

Floor Speech

BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT

Mr. WOLF. I want to thank the gentleman from Iowa (Mr. King) for the time. I am very grateful. Thank you.

Mr. Speaker, last evening, CNN reported startling new revelations about efforts by the CIA to prevent agency employees and contractors from speaking to the press and Congress about the terrorist attacks in Benghazi last September.

According to CNN:

Since January, some CIA operatives involved in the agency's missions in Libya have been subjected to frequent, even monthly polygraph examinations, according to a source with deep inside knowledge of the agency's workings. The goal of the questioning, according to sources, is to find out if anyone is talking to the media or talking to Congress.

This report confirms what I have been saying for months: survivors of the attack are being silenced. By failing to have public hearings over the last year, the Congress has empowered the government to silence the eyewitnesses from the attack. This is unacceptable.

The CIA says that the agency ``employees are always free to speak to Congress if they want.'' However, the reported monthly polygraphs clearly contradict these assertions.

Just listen to the following comments reported by CNN. ``You don't jeopardize yourself, you jeopardize your family as well,'' one CIA source told CNN.

``You have no idea the amount of pressure being brought to bear on anyone with knowledge of this operation,'' another said.

According to a separate report by Fox News this morning, ``At least five CIA employees were forced to sign additional nondisclosure agreements this past spring in the wake of the Benghazi attack,'' confirming what I said on the House floor on July 18.

Four Americans were killed in a terrorist attack on two U.S. facilities. Seven Americans were wounded, some severely. Another two-dozen could have been killed that night, but for the sacrifices made by Ty Woods, Glen Doherty, Dave Ubben and untold others who deserve to be recognized for their heroic acts.

Why are these heroes being told not to talk?

What is the administration afraid of?

What is it protecting?

Nearly 6 months ago, I wrote Secretary Kerry, asking for the names and contact information of the State Department employees who were in Benghazi last September. The Department refused to provide this information, or even confirm the number of those wounded and the nature of their injuries.

I again made this request to Secretary Kerry earlier this month and, once again, the Department refused. During a July 24 State Department press briefing, the Department spokesman again made excuses for not providing this information to Congress and, once again, used the FBI as an excuse not to cooperate, stating, ``we have serious concerns about the survivors' welfare and want to be careful not to interfere with the FBI's investigation of the attack.''

And then asserting, ``There are no Department employees who want to tell their story that are being obstructed from doing so by the leadership of the State Department.''

How can the Congress know the survivors don't want to speak with Congress if they can't learn who they are and ask them?

Are we really to take the administration's word for it?

Nearly every day, for the past 3 weeks, I've come to the floor to ask questions that should be answered by now. These have ranged from whether there was an intelligence failure that night to who was responsible for the U.S. response--the State Department, Defense Department, or the CIA, to just why we had such a large CIA presence operating in Benghazi in the first place.

The failure to provide answers to the American people, despite nearly a year of investigations, makes clear the need for a new approach. I believe the best path forward is a dedicated, bipartisan House select committee with full subpoena authority to hold public hearings and issue a public final report.

One hundred sixty two of our colleagues, nearly three-quarters of the majority, agree, and that is why they have cosponsored H. Res. 36, to create a bipartisan select committee.

This effort has been supported by the family members of the Benghazi victims, the special operations community, the Federal Law Enforcement Officers Association, which represents the diplomatic security officers that were in Benghazi, as well as the editorial page of The Wall Street Journal.

With such a broad range of support, it begs the question, why not?

What are we afraid of from a full investigation and public hearings?

The House ``interim progress report'' on Benghazi was released on April 23. When will the final report be released?

H. Res. 36 would mandate a final report within 90 days. It would also have full subpoena authority to compel sworn testimony from all witnesses. It would bring together the best investigators from all the committees in the House, and it would use existing resources.

It would not duplicate effort. It would build on the work that's already been done over the past year. Iron sharpens iron.

When we return from August recess there will only be 2 days, 2 days until the 1-year anniversary of the Benghazi attacks. Can any Member here confidently say they know what happened that night?

Can any Member honestly say, with reports like the one CNN did yesterday, that this Congress has done everything it can to allow the survivors to come forward and tell their story?

Witnesses need to be subpoenaed. I'm talking about friendly subpoenas to the survivors and those career Federal employees in theater and in Washington who witnessed the response or lack thereof that night.

Some have argued we shouldn't issue subpoenas until we know what a witness will say. That won't work, especially given the nondisclosure agreements and polygraphs being deployed to silence them. And they need to speak publicly, because speaking behind closed doors offers them no protection.

My congressional district includes the CIA and a number of other intelligence agencies. Throughout my career, I have talked to and worked with countless career Federal employees and contractors working for intelligence agencies. I know the pressure they're under

to stay silent, even if they have information that the Congress and the American people need to hear.

They need the protection of a subpoena. There is no other way.

Until we hear in public from these witnesses what happened that night, we'll never be able to answer the many unanswered questions I have raised daily on the House floor over the past 3 weeks, which I'm submitting together today for the Record.

September 11 is fast approaching. Will we continue on our current path and learn from forthcoming books written by survivors and sanitized by the CIA?

Or will we create a select committee to subpoena witnesses to testify under oath at public hearings?

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