Letter to John Boehner, Speaker of the House of Representatives, Eric Cantor, Majority Leader, House of Representatives, and Kevin McCarthy, Majority Whip, House of Representatives - Benghazi Attack

Letter

January 28, 2014

The Honorable John Boehner
Speaker
U.S. House of Representatives
H-232 The Capitol
Washington, DC 20515-0001

The Honorable Eric Cantor
Majority Leader
U.S. House of Representatives
H-329 The Capitol
Washington, DC 20515-0001

The Honorable Kevin McCarthy
Majority Whip
U.S. House of Representatives
H-107 The Capitol
Washington, DC 20515-0001

Dear Speaker Boehner, Majority Leader Cantor, and Majority Whip McCarthy:

I write to express my continuing support for establishing a select committee to provide a full and thorough investigation of the September 11, 2012 terrorist attack on the U.S. Consulate in Benghazi, Libya, that claimed the lives of four Americans. Further, I urge you to pursue Congressional authorization to allow our military to utilize all available options to bring those who planned and carried out this tragic attack to justice.

Recently, the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence (SSCI) reported that the attack on the U.S. Consulate in Benghazi could have been prevented. The SSCI report notes that the State Department should have recognized the need to increase security at the U.S. Consulate; however, operations continued with minimal improvements in security, limiting the protection of the personnel within the Consulate. Further, the report notes in the additional views section authored by a number of Republican Senators on the Committee that questions remain unanswered as a direct result of the Administration's failure to provide the Committee with access to necessary documents and witnesses. It has been over a year since the attack; the families and loved ones of the victims deserve justice, the Administration must be held accountable, and the American people deserve answers.

This Congress, as with last Congress, Rep. Frank Wolf introduced a House Resolution to establish a select committee to investigate and report on the attack on the U.S. Consulate in Benghazi. This resolution has received 180 cosponsors supporting the creation of such a committee, yet the House has not had the opportunity to vote on this essential resolution. I urge you to make establishing this select committee a priority and request that you bring this resolution to the House floor for a full vote as soon as possible.

Also, I am deeply troubled by comments made by the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Martin Dempsey in a recently released transcript from an October 10, 2013 House Armed Services Committee (HASC) hearing. In his testimony, General Dempsey stated that the Authorization for the Use of Military Force (AUMF), which the Administration has interpreted as authorizing the military to target Al Qaeda and associated forces, does not provide the military with the authority to track down and kill those terrorists responsible for the attack. According to statements made by U.S. State Department spokeswoman Jen Psaki on January 8, 2014, the Administration believes that the attackers' association with "core Al Qaeda" has not yet been proven; however, the SSCI report states that "Individuals affiliated with terrorist groups, including AQIM [Al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb], Ansar al Sharia, AQAP [Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula], and the Mohammad Jamal Network, participated in the September 11, 2012, attacks." I urge you to consider additional legislation, if necessary, to ensure that Congressional authorization is provided for our military to pursue all possible options to bring these terrorists to justice.

These are two essential tasks that Congress must pursue over the next year, and I urge you to adhere to calls from Members of Congress and the American people to address these important issues.

Sincerely,

Tim Griffin
Member of Congress

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