While appearing on Sunday’s edition of “60 Minutes,” National Security Adviser Susan Rice dismissed the scandal surrounding the Benghazi terror attack, calling it a “false controversy,” The Hill reported.
“I don’t have time to think about a false controversy,” Rice told Lesley Stahl. “In the midst of all of the swirl about things like talking points, the administration’s been working very, very hard across the globe to review our security of our embassies and our facilities. That’s what we ought to be focused on.”
Rice also defended then-Secretary of State Hillary Clinton’s decision to not appear on Sunday programs following the attack.
“She had just gone through an incredibly painful and stressful week,” she said. “Secretary Clinton, as our chief diplomat, had to reach out to the families, had to greet the bodies upon their arrival at Andrews Air Force Base. If I were her, the last thing I would have wanted to do is five Sunday morning talk shows. So I think it’s perfectly understandable.”
Stahl suggested that if Rice had not appeared on the programs, she might be called “Madam Secretary.”
“Well you can call me Susan,” Rice responded.
“No, we will call you a liar,” one reader commented at The Hill.
As we reported in January, Rice attributed the attack to an obscure online video in multiple appearances, sparking outrage.
For example, she told NBC’s “Meet the Press” the attack was a “response to a hateful and offensive video that was widely disseminated throughout the Arab and Muslim world.”
In October 2012, Rep. Trey Gowdy (R-SC) accused the administration of lying to the American public and demanded answers.
“This was never about a video! It was never spontaneous! This is terror, and I want to know why we were lied to,” he asked.
Later in the year, Gen. David Petraeus told Congress he knew almost immediately the attack was an act of terrorism and the talking points given to Ambassador Rice were edited to play down the terrorist aspect of the attack.
Clinton, who famously screamed that the truth about Benghazi doesn’t matter, said she did not know of any reports that contradicted the talking points Rice used when she appeared on those programs.
The administration has repeatedly claimed the scandal surrounding Benghazi is a “made-up” controversy, ginned up by Republicans looking for a scandal.
Meanwhile, reports have surfaced indicating the administration is doing everything it can to keep the truth about the attack from being known, going so far as to hide survivors of the attack while ordering others to dodge the media.
Related:
- Hillary Clinton: Truth about Benghazi attack doesn’t matter
- Report says Valerie Jarrett gave the order to stand down in Benghazi
- Rep. Allen West: Ambassador Rice’s comments on Libya ‘asinine, naive, inept’
- Report: U.S. diplomats warned of security issues 3 days before consulate attack
- Military analyst: State Department, Clinton to blame for deaths in Libya
- White House denies State Department warned of possible embassy attacks
- House: Administration denied ‘repeated requests’ for extra security in Benghazi
- Jay Carney: ‘Self-evident’ that attack on Benghazi consulate was terrorism
- Retired officer: Obama watched Benghazi attack happen, sources say
- House: Administration denied ‘repeated requests’ for extra security in Benghazi
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