A major theme of Coweta County Republican Rep. Lynn Westmoreland's questioning of former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton this morning in a high-profile hearing on the 2012 Benghazi attack was an attempt to hold Clinton — and the State Department — to the fire for insufficient security at the compound.
Clinton struck back with a sharp rebuke, saying that when Westmoreland travels overseas, he trusts his life to the very people he was denigrating.
Westmoreland prodded Clinton on whether dead ambassador Chris Stevens — whose requests for additional security were unheeded — had her personal email, in order to appeal directly for more protection. Clinton said Stevens probably did not have her email, and those requests went through the normal channels to the "professionals."
Westmoreland said the Select Committee on Benghazi’s investigation had shown a big difference between the CIA, which had a large adjoining Benghazi presence, and the State Department.
“There was a big, big difference in the equipment they had to protect theirself,” Westmoreland said. Clinton replied that the CIA and State had an agreement “to help supplement security,” but it wasn’t written down.
The key exchange, where Clinton showed a touch of fire, came on the security personnel.
Clinton: I know that sounds somewhat hard to understand, but we have a process. And the experts who I have the greatest confidence in and who have been through so many difficult positions, because practically all of them have rotated through Afghanistan, Pakistan, Iraq, Yemen, other places. They were the ones making the assessment. No one ever came to me and said we should shut down our compound in Benghazi.
Westmoreland: I'm not saying shut it down. I'm saying protect it.
Clinton: Well, it was.
Westmoreland: I'm not saying shut it down. I'm just saying protect it.
Clinton: Right.
Westmoreland: And when you say security professionals, I'm not trying to be disparaging on anybody, but I don't know who those folks were, but, just…
Clinton: Well, they risked their lives to try to save…
Westmoreland: Just my little opinion, they weren't very professional when it came to protecting people.
Later in the questioning, Clinton came back to the point.
Clinton: I have to add, congressman, the diplomatic security professionals are among the best in the world. I would put them up against anybody. And I just cannot allow any comment to be in the record in any way criticizing or disparaging them. They have kept Americans safe in two wars and in a lot of other really terrible situations over the last many years. I trusted them with my life. You trusted them with yours when you're on CODELs. They deserve better and they deserve all the support Congress can give them because they are doing a really hard job very well.
Westmoreland: Well, ma'am, all I can say is they missed something here, and we lost four Americans.
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