South Carolina Republican Rep. Trey Gowdy lambasted National Security Adviser Susan Rice for her lack of regret over her incorrect statements on the 2012 Benghazi attacks, calling it “stunningly arrogant” and accusing her of continuing to peddle a “false narrative.”
Gowdy spoke Monday with Fox News’ Greta van Susteren about Rice’s comments on “Meet the Press” Sunday, when she claimed she had “no regrets” for blaming the attacks on a disorganized mob upset about a video — not on well-trained Islamic terrorists.
Rice blamed the misstatement on faulty intelligence. But Gowdy wasn’t buying it. “There is no evidence to support that false narrative of a video,” he began. “Not a scintilla of evidence. All of the evidence pointed exactly to what she claimed it wasn’t: a preplanned, coordinated attack.”
“So she was fabulously wrong when she said it the first time,” he declared, “and stunningly arrogant in her refusal to express any regret for lying to our fellow citizens.”
Given Rice’s insistence, Susteren asked the congressman what could be done to hold her and the administration accountable.
“I would love the chance to ask follow-up questions of Susan Rice, because David Gregory apparently did not avail himself of that opportunity,” he said, referencing Sunday’s interview. “Greta, I just listened to the the clip. I get tougher questions in the Bojangles drive-thru than he asked her.”
“There’s no regret about lying to your fellow citizens?” Gowdy continued. “No regret about the fact that in 18 months, not a single solitary person has been brought to justice? No regret for misleading the families and the loved ones of those four murdered Americans? I can certainly help her if she is struggling to come up with an area of regret.”
Susteren also asked the congressman why, given the absurd nature of the White House’s video story, Rice and the administration still tried to cover up the attack.
Gowdy noted that “we were in the midst of a [presidential] campaign,” with President Obama touting the effective defeat of al-Qaida. “Al-Qaida was not on the run,” he said, “they were at the front door of our facility in Benghazi, getting ready to kill our ambassador and burn it down.”
“So she can either tell the truth, or she can blame it on a video for which there is no evidence whatsoever,” he continued. “And she opted to protect her career and parrot the talking points that were provided to her by the White House.”
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