A former investigator with the congressional panel probing the deadly 2012 attack on the US mission in Benghazi, Libya, is accusing Republicans of targeting potential Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Rodham Clinton.
Major Bradley Podliska is preparing to file a federal lawsuit against the House of Representatives Select Committee on Benghazi next month, saying he was fired in part because he opposed the panel’s decision to focus primarily on Clinton’s role as then-US secretary of state.
Podliska also claims he lost his job because he took leave for several weeks from the panel to fulfill his military service obligations, which would be an unlawful firing, if true.
“I knew that we needed to get the truth to the victims’ families,” he told CNN’s State of the Union in an interview scheduled to air today.
“The victims’ families, they deserve the truth — whether or not Hillary Clinton was involved, whether or not other individuals were involved,” Podliska said. “The victims’ families are not going to get the truth, and that’s the most unfortunate thing about this.”
Podliska served almost 10 months on the panel before he was fired in June.
However, the panel strongly disputed Podliska’s claims.
It insisted he was “terminated for cause” due to his own “improper partiality” against Clinton and other members of US President Barack Obama’s administration.
The panel said in a statement that Podliska had sought to use its resources to create a “PowerPoint ‘hit piece’ on members of the Obama administration — including secretary Clinton.”
The reasons for his firing were “directly contrary to his brand new assertion,” it added.
Critics accuse the panel of conducting a biased, partisan probe of the Sept. 11, 2012, attacks that killed US ambassador Christopher Stevens and three other US citizens.
Last month, House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy raised eyebrows when he welcomed the investigation resulting in any damage of the Clinton campaign.
“Everybody thought Hillary Clinton was unbeatable, right? But we put together a Benghazi special committee, a select committee,” he told Fox News. “What are her numbers today? Her numbers are dropping.”
Podliska said that after revelations emerged in March that Clinton had used a private e-mail server while serving as US secretary of state, the panel’s investigation became less comprehensive, focusing narrowly on the US Department of State’s role in the controversy over the assault.
All but five of the 31 press releases the committee has released since that time have focused on Clinton.
Representative Elijah Cummings, the senior Democrat on the committee, said the “extremely serious” whistle-blower charges show that “Republicans have been abusing millions of taxpayer dollars for the illegitimate purpose of damaging Hillary Clinton’s bid for president.”
Podliska told CNN that the committee — chaired by Republican Representative Trey Gowdy — diverted resources from investigations of other individuals and agencies to focus almost exclusively on Clinton and the Department of State.
Clinton, who served as the top US diplomat for four years, is due to testify publicly before the committee for the first time on Thursday.
US Representative Adam Schiff, the top Democrat on the House Intelligence Committee, called for an end to the Benghazi panel, which has spent about US$4.5 million so far.
“Only by ending this expensive and politicized investigation can we begin to undo the damage already done through this unprecedented use of Congress’ power for nakedly political purposes,” he said.
And the top Democrat on the House Armed Services Committee, Representative Adam Smith, agreed.
If the allegations are true, “we should slam the door shut on this ugly chapter in American history and close down the Benghazi committee,” he said.
Obama’s administration initially said the attack was the spontaneous act of a mob enraged by a video circulating on the Internet that insulted Muslims.
However, days later, the administration said the attack was in fact an act terrorism.
Obama faced re-election less than two months’ later.
Critics said the initial accounts — which blamed mob violence rather than a premeditated terror attack — sought to mislead the public and avoid angering US voters worried about terrorism.
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