An ex-staff member of the Benghazi Select House Committee, Maj. Bradley Podliska, investigating the extent of Hillary Clinton’s involvement in the Sept. 11, 2012 consulate attack in Benghazi, told CNN the establishment of the committee was essentially set up as a witch hunt against Clinton.
Still, the Benghazi panel is continuing its investigation of Clinton and is planning to have a congressional hearing to investigate Clinton’s personal emails and her overall personal conduct as secretary of state.
I’ll be the first to admit I don’t think Clinton’s hands are clean in the Benghazi attacks.
The United States compound was attacked in Benghazi, Libya, in 2012. Four Americans were brutally killed, one of which was a U.S. ambassador.
The details surrounding the attack have never been totally clear, but the gravity of the case certainly warrants a more serious investigation than the sideshow playing out in Washington right now.
I will probably not be voting for Clinton in the primaries. To me she’s got her fingers in too many pies and I fear her presidency would only harm U.S. overseas efforts.
I don’t think she’s a perfect politician, either — there’s a lack of transparency about her that I don’t like.
But playing dirty politics is something I cannot stand. Even though this ex-staffer has blatantly accused the Benghazi panels of targeting Clinton, the fact members of the Benghazi committee have only answered Podliska’s allegations with denial has me more than a little upset.
I understand that politics isn’t exactly good clean fun. But when it is so blatantly obvious someone is being accused of something under false pretenses, I demand that there be more investigations, especially since that someone is running for president in a highly contentious political time.
Furthermore, the Clinton drama takes away from the actual issues at hand — too often I turn on the news to find someone harping on the upcoming congressional hearing than I do about the Black Lives Matter movement and the need to re-think the college system — essentially, anything that is actually of some immediate importance.
And I find it shocking they would use such a brutal attack to try and bring Clinton to her knees.
Benghazi was a tragedy. Four people were killed, no answers have been given and I think that deserves more respect than a phony hearing with no actual political purpose.
I want a serious investigation into Benghazi and for there to be an actual case against Clinton. Yes she used her personal email, but are we really only going to focus on this one specific event? Why not the other potential risks involved in using personal emails for matters of state?
In short, this investigation is a sham and a waste of both Clinton’s time and ours. I hope it ends quickly so we can begin focusing on real issues again.
Clinton isn’t the perfect candidate but dirty politics doesn’t only hurt her — it hurts everyone involved in our upcoming presidential elections.
ewenning@indiana.edu
@emmawenninger
