New York Times: Democrats Look Dubiously at Joining Benghazi Panel

Washington, DC, May 11, 2014
But Representative Debbie Wasserman Schultz of Florida, chairwoman of the Democratic National Committee, said on CNN's "State of the Union" that the panel's findings had been "predetermined" by Republicans. She enumerated the hearings, briefings and documents that have already been dedicated to investigating the attack. She said that as Republican fervor for repealing the Affordable Care Act has dissipated, the party is grasping for a new political wedge. "They are clearly doing this to drive their turnout," Ms. Wasserman Schultz said.
By Emmarie Huetteman 
House Democrats on Sunday made it clear that they do not expect fair proceedings from the Republican-led panel newly tasked with investigating the 2012 attack in Benghazi, Libya, but offered no definitive answer on whether they would appoint any of their own members to participate.
Representative Xavier Becerra, a California Democrat, said members of his party would join the proceedings should Republicans — who have agitated for further investigation into the attack, which killed four Americans, including J. Christopher Stevens, the ambassador to Libya — agree not to block their full involvement.
“We’ve always said that we’re ready to participate. We have an oversight responsibility in Congress,” Mr. Becerra said on “Fox News Sunday.” “What we don’t want to see is reckless and irresponsible use of Congress and taxpayer money to do these witch hunts.”
Speaker John A. Boehner on Friday appointed seven Republicans to the 12-person panel, which was created by a largely party-line vote last week after the release of an email that showed the White House tried to shape the way the attack was discussed by Susan E. Rice, a former ambassador to the United Nations, on several Sunday news programs.
The issue spurred a tense exchange on the Fox program between Mr. Becerra and Representative Trey Gowdy, the South Carolina Republican and a former prosecutor who will lead the committee.
Mr. Gowdy said that he wanted the committee to “transcend politics,” saying he has “no foes to punish” but wants to know why the United States remained in Benghazi after earlier violence.
But Representative Debbie Wasserman Schultz of Florida, chairwoman of the Democratic National Committee, said on CNN’s “State of the Union” that the panel’s findings had been “predetermined” by Republicans. She enumerated the hearings, briefings and documents that have already been dedicated to investigating the attack.
She said that as Republican fervor for repealing the Affordable Care Act has dissipated, the party is grasping for a new political wedge. “They are clearly doing this to drive their turnout,” Ms. Wasserman Schultz said.
The question of whether Democrats would participate on the committee was left unanswered at the end of last week as lawmakers departed for a weeklong recess.
Responding to criticisms of the National Republican Congressional Committee’s recent fund-raising literature that mentioned the Benghazi investigation, Mr. Gowdy said on “Fox News Sunday” that he would not use the attack to raise money and urged his fellow Republicans to follow suit. But he said Democrats had done the same with tragedies like the shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Conn.
“It would be helpful if our colleagues on the other side of the aisle did not have selective amnesia when it comes to what’s appropriate to raise money off of and what is not,” he said.
Among the major sticking points is whether a Democrat may sign off on all subpoenas, a ground rule to which Republicans object unequivocally.
Mr. Gowdy said he intended to conduct an informative, fair inquiry and questioned whether allowing a Democrat to sign off on subpoenas would fit into that.
“Imagine you and I starting an investigation and the first thing you ask for is the ability to deny or veto subpoenas going to witnesses,” he said. “How can it be a pursuit of the truth?”
Mr. Gowdy contended that he had nothing to gain by excluding Democrats from the process, acknowledging that Republicans have to be careful about how they conduct an investigation that Democratic leaders have called a “kangaroo court.”
“If we overplay our hand or if we engage in a process that is not fair according to the American people, we will be punished, as we should be for that,” he said.