A Republican U.S. Senator is saying publicly that it is time for his Republican colleagues to “move beyond” the attack on the Benghazi , Libya, consulate on Sept. 11, 2011.
U.S. Sen. Jeff Flake, an Arizona Republican, told “Meet the Press” moderator Chuck Todd that it was time to move on following a House Intelligence Committee report that found no faults in American intelligence leading up to the death of American Ambassador J. Christopher Stevens and others at the consulate. It was only the eighth time in American history for an American ambassador to die in the line of duty.
“I always thought the biggest problem with Benghazi is how it was cast by the administration, and the remarks of Susan Rice just really flew in the face of what we knew was going on…. But with regard to the other things that were addressed by this report, yes, I’ve thought that for a long time we ought to move beyond that.”
While Flake may be one Republican telling his colleagues to “move beyond” Benghazi, another Republican who might have presidential aspirations in 2016 took a completely different tact.
U.S. Sen. Lindsey Graham, a long-serving South Carolina Republican and a reservist in the United States Air Force, called the report “full of crap” during an interview with CNN ‘s Gloria Borger on the network’s “State of the Union” broadcast, adding that the House Intelligence Committee did a “lousy job.”
“No, I’m saying the House Intelligence Committee is doing a lousy job policing their own…. I’m saying that anybody who has followed Benghazi at all knows that the CIA deputy director did not come forward to tell Congress what role he played in changing the talking points. And the only way we knew he was involved is when he told a representative at the White House, I’m going to do a hard review of this, a hard rewrite.”
Tell us what you think? Do you agree with Sen. Flake, who said it is time for Republicans to “move beyond” Benghazi? Or do you agree with Sen. Graham, who called the report “full of crap” and said the House Intelligence Committee was not doing a good job? Tell us in the comments section below. We would love to hear what you have to say about the topic.
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