Wittman Votes for Answers, Accountability in Benghazi Terrorist Attack

Press Release

Congressman Rob Wittman (VA-1) voted for legislation Thursday evening to establish a Select Committee on Benghazi, as the House continues to search for accountability and truth about the terrorist attack that killed four Americans on September 11, 2012. Wittman released the following statement:

"It is unfortunate that the House must repeatedly work for answers and accountability on a terrorist attack on our own citizens, but I am pleased that this matter will continue to be investigated, for the families, and for those serving our nation across the globe. I believe Congress has a duty to exert stringent oversight over the Executive Branch, especially in such a matter where American lives were lost, and important unanswered questions remain. We must ensure our nation's readiness to thwart future attacks and we must ensure an accountable government."

Wittman has long supported a full and prompt investigation of the attack, and was an original cosponsor of H. Res. 36, legislation establishing a select committee to investigate and report on the attack on the United States consulate in Benghazi, Libya, authored by fellow Virginian Rep. Frank Wolf (VA-10).

The House Armed Services Committee recently released a series of declassified transcripts of briefings held by the Committee on the Benghazi attack, and the Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations (O&I) released a comprehensive report evaluating the response of the Department of Defense. Rep. Wittman participated in questioning witnesses at the O&I briefings, which were part of the Committee's examination of the actions of the military chain of command before, during, and after the attack. The transcripts of these briefings, now public, detail national security readiness deficits before this attack and the lack of accountability from the Administration both before and after the attack.

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