Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton attacked President Trump for not “defending a diplomat” who “has spent his career standing up for America” on Thursday.
Former U.S. Ambassador to Russia Michael McFaul — the diplomat in question — was among the group of American officials that Russia sought to question in connection with a fraudulent scheme to launder hundreds of millions of dollars out of Russia to help fund Hillary Clinton’s campaign.
The Trump administration has yet to disclose its position on the case. As Sarah Sanders told reporters on Wednesday, “The president is going to meet with his team, and we’ll let you know when we have an announcement on that … There was some conversation about it, but there wasn’t a commitment made on behalf of the United States.”
McFaul was outraged over the potential idea, as were many in the diplomatic circles of Washington, D.C. Hillary Clinton personally sounded off on the issue, saying, “Ambassador McFaul is a patriot who has spent his career standing up for America. To see the White House even hesitate to defend a diplomat is deeply troubling.”
Ambassador @McFaul is a patriot who has spent his career standing up for America. To see the White House even hesitate to defend a diplomat is deeply troubling. https://t.co/gI8K8Tjg3M
— Hillary Clinton (@HillaryClinton) July 19, 2018
The irony of Hillary Clinton critiquing Trump’s lack of a strong defense of a U.S. ambassador was not lost on Benghazi survivor Kris Paronto. Paronto is a former U.S. Army Ranger and CIA security contractor who helped extract the body of Ambassador Christopher Stevens, who lost his life when Islamic extremists raided his residence in Libya.
In total, four American lives were lost in the attack, including two members of Paronto’s team.
Paronto called Hillary “disgusting” for the comments. “Are you f*****g kidding m,e Hillary Clinton?!!!” Paronto tweeted, “You left Ambassador Stevens and us to die in Benghazi then spewed lie after lie to the family members of my dead teammates and to the world to cover it up and now you have the nerve to talk about defending diplomats?! You are disgusting!”
Are you f’n kidding me @HillaryClinton ?!!! You left Ambassador Stevens and us to die in Benghazi then spewed lie after lie to the family members of my dead teammates and to the world to cover it up and now you have the nerve to talk about defending diplomats?!You are disgusting! https://t.co/ErQl1jOU8a
— Kris Paronto (@KrisParonto) July 19, 2018
The Obama administration peddled multiple lies about the motive of the attackers and the administration’s slow response in the aftermath of the attack.
Pat Smith, the mother of U.S. Foreign Service Officer Sean Smith, blamed Hillary for the death of her son saying during the 2016 election, “I blame Hillary Clinton personally for the death of my son.”
Many in conservative media also leveled criticism of the comment.
Ambassador Chris Stevens could not be reached for comment. https://t.co/GmGITVTg9t
— Mark Hemingway (@Heminator) July 20, 2018
