A Republican House chairman on Thursday issued a new subpoena for Secretary of State John Kerry to testify about the deadly 2012 attack in Benghazi, Libya, in an escalating fight with the Obama administration over its cooperation with Congress.
Rep. Darrell Issa, who heads the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, said he had no choice as the State Department had failed to negotiate in good faith on an appropriate date for Kerry to testify. Earlier in the week, Issa had lifted a subpoena for a May 21 appearance amid ongoing discussions between the panel and the department.
Kerry is scheduled to travel to Mexico next week.
“Soon after I lifted the subpoena, the State Department back tracked, stating publicly that we should accept ‘a more appropriate witness’ and refusing to commit to making Secretary Kerry available,” Issa said in a statement. “With this State Department’s slippery tactics, it’s no wonder our friends in the world are losing faith in us and our adversaries doubt our credibility.”
The new subpoena calls for Kerry to testify May 29. The State Department testily responded to Issa’s new subpoena while maintaining that no new date has been set and a witness other than Kerry might be better able to answer the panel’s questions.
The subpoena, State Department spokeswoman Marie Harf said, “was accompanied by a headline-grabbing, highly political tweet attacking the integrity of the State Department itself. This is not the way legitimate and responsible oversight is conducted.”
Issa has insisted that Kerry explain to Congress why some emails and documents related to Benghazi were not provided to the committee, which has been conducting an investigation. A watchdog group, Judicial Watch, obtained the material through a lawsuit.
The Sept. 11, 2012, attack killed four Americans, including Ambassador Chris Stevens. It has been the subject of multiple independent, bipartisan and GOP inquiries, and House Republicans recently created an eighth probe by a select committee.
Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., and the oversight panel’s top Democrat, Rep. Elijah Cummings of Maryland, criticized the Issa subpoena coming just days after the establishment of the new committee. Last week, House Speaker John Boehner appointed Rep. Trey Gowdy, R-S.C., to serve as the panel chairman and named six other Republicans.
“Chairman Issa’s subpoena of Secretary Kerry calls into question the Republicans’ stated purpose of the select committee on Benghazi,” Pelosi said. “The select committee is a sign of no confidence in Issa just as Issa’s action today is a sign of a lack of confidence in the select committee.
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