In California, just after midnight on Saturday morning, U.S. federal police questioned the film’s producer about possible parole violations, shortly after YouTube refused the White House’s suggestion to take down the video. (RELATED: Obama submits to Brotherhood, asks for suppression of anti-Islam video)
On Sunday, Libya’s president refuted the White House’s claim that the Benghazi attack was a simple anti-video protest that went berserk.
“We firmly believe that this was a pre-calculated, pre-planned attack that was carried out specifically to attack the U.S. Consulate,” el-Megarif said.
In a separate interview with CBS, he said Libyan government forces had arrested 50 people, including foreigners, involved in the attack on the poorly guarded consulate in Benghazi that killed the ambassador and three other Americans.
His description of the attackers as a organized, trained and heavily armed group matches reported statements from a wounded Libyan guard and the owner of the buildings used for the Benghazi diplomatic complex.
On Sunday, Sept. 16, administration official stuck to their claim that the killings were a spontaneous result of an unpredictable protest.
“What happened initially was that it was a spontaneous reaction to what had just transpired in Cairo as a consequence of the video,” claimed Obama’s ambassador to the United Nations, Susan Rice.
“People gathered outside the embassy and then it grew very violent. … Those with extremist ties joined the fray and came with heavy weapons, which unfortunately are quite common in post-revolutionary Libya, and that then spun out of control,” she insisted on Fox News Sunday.
She made the same pitch on four Sunday news shows.
That video-did-it claim also came Friday from White House spokesman Jay Carney, and from unidentified officials who spoke to several news outlets.
That same day, the State Department announced it would no longer answer any reporters’ questions about the Benghazi attack. (RELATED: The State Department doesn’t have to answer your questions either)
