The deadly attack on a U.S. outpost in Benghazi two years ago has been investigated by seven congressional committees, each of which concluded that the conspiracy theorists are wrong. House Republicans nevertheless concluded that it’s time for an eighth committee to launch a probe, which its chairman, Rep. Trey Gowdy (R-S.C.), insists won’t be the least bit political.
And yet, consider what Rep. Lynn Westmoreland (R-Ga.) said over the weekend.
U.S. Rep. Lynn Westmoreland (R-Grantville) addressed the Benghazi investigation and terrorist organization ISIS among other topics Saturday morning at the Cobb County GOP breakfast at its headquarters. […]“I’m not going to stand here and confirm or deny anything,” Westmoreland told the crowd. “Our job is to figure out the truth.”Westmoreland spent much of his speech criticizing Democrats. “I think our enemy stands on 1600 Pennsylvania Ave.,” Westmoreland said to loud applause.
Oh good, we’ve reached the point at which elected lawmakers publicly describe the president of the United States as an “enemy.”
According to the report in the Marietta Daily Journal, Westmoreland went on to say that “it’s hard” for congressional Democrats “to be bipartisan.”
Said the guy who considers the president his “enemy.”
Remember, Westmoreland isn’t just some random conservative — the Georgia Republican was one of only seven House Republicans to be named to the new GOP Benghazi committee. In May, Rep. John Lewis (D-Ga.) said Westmoreland has “no business” joining the select committee, calling it “inappropriate” for the far-right lawmaker to serve on the panel while also overseeing political strategy for the National Republican Campaign Committee.
With the benefit of hindsight, Lewis’ concerns appear well grounded.
Igor Bobic added, “Admission for the Marietta, Georgia, event was $10. The Cobb County GOP touted the event as a ‘very unusual breakfast’ where its supporters would receive an ‘update on the Benghazi investigation.’”
Trey Gowdy recently said he hopes to avoid a media “circus” with his investigation. “If you take the approach ‘Are we doing this to learn more and better ourselves as a people? And be respectful of their sacrifice?’ then you won’t let it become a circus,” he said.
And yet, here’s a handpicked member of Gowdy’s panel, using the Benghazi investigation to help a local Republican Party, at an event in which that member referred to the president as an “enemy.”
As for the larger context, with Gowdy’s committee poised to hold its first hearing next week, msnbc’s Alex Seitz-Wald noted last week, “After several mercifully Benghazi-free months, the 2012 attack on the diplomatic compound in Libya is about to be thrust back into the spotlight around its September 11 anniversary.”
Fox News, naturally, is getting increasingly invested, repackaging old news as new fodder, while again pushing discredited theories.
Steve Benen is a producer for "The Rachel Maddow Show," the editor of MaddowBlog and an MS NOW political contributor. He's also the bestselling author of "Ministry of Truth: Democracy, Reality, and the Republicans' War on the Recent Past."