King: Benghazi 10 times bigger than Watergate, Iran-Contra combined

Rep. Steve King, Iowa Republican, said Wednesday that the Sept. 11 terrorist attack on the U.S. Consulate in Benghazi, Libya, is 10 times bigger than the Watergate and Iran-Contra scandals put together.

"I believe that it's a lot bigger than Watergate, and if you link Watergate and Iran-Contra together and multiply it times maybe 10 or so, you're going to get in the zone where Benghazi is," Mr. King said. "I don't think the public has any idea, and I tell you, I don't either, of the chronology of the events — what took place, and who was where doing what and why. And all the way down through — we still haven't seen an autopsy report on the ambassador yet. Simple questions that you would ask in the first 24 hours have not been asked yet."

The Obama administration has faced intense criticism both for its handling of the attack and for the confusing and at time conflicting messages it put out afterward on what happened.

Mr. King reiterated his support for a proposal put forth by Republican Rep. Frank Wolf of Virginia, who has called for a Watergate-style select committee to investigate the circumstances surrounding the attack, in which U.S. Ambassador J. Christopher Stevens, former Navy SEALs Glen Doherty and Tyrone Woods, and State Department officer Sean Smith were killed.

The Washington Times reported Tuesday that live video from a drone flying over the consulate during the attack was monitored at a Defense Department facility, but was not given immediately to the White House.

Senior Defense Department officials argued during a Nov. 9 background briefing on the attack that the footage would not have necessarily provided solid enough information on the ground to warrant sending in a team.

A senior U.S. intelligence official also told The Times that the CIA's personnel in Benghazi "responded to the situation on the night of 11 and 12 September as quickly and as effectively as possible."

Saturday, December 15, 2012