BENGHAZI COMMITTEE TO JOHN KERRY: We'll Summon Anyone To Testify Anytime We Want
The State Department said appearing before the House Oversight Committee should preclude Kerry from having to testify before a select congressional committee established earlier this month to investigate the attack.
The State Department was clearly perturbed the House Oversight Committee's chair, Republican Rep. Darrell Issa, subpoenaed Kerry for testimony and continued to request he appear before the select committee as well. The select committee, which is being chaired by Republican Rep. Trey Gowdy, is taking the lead from Issa on the Benghazi investigation.
In a letter obtained by Business Insider, Julia Frifield, the State Department's assistant secretary for legislative affairs, asked Issa to remove a May 29 subpoena and let Kerry testify before the committee on June 12 or June 20. (Issa accepted the June 12 offer, a spokesman said.) Frifield suggested this would remove Kerry's obligation to appear before the other committee.
"We believe this would remove any need for the Secretary to appear before the Select Committee to answer additional questions," Frifield wrote.
However, Amanda Duvall, a spokesman for Gowdy, told Business Insider the Select Committee won't necessarily be satisfied with that. She didn't say whether the select committee was planning to summon Kerry or former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, but she said the new panel could compel anyone as many times as needed.
"The Benghazi Select Committee will talk to all material witnesses as many times as necessary to discover all relevant facts and answer all relevant questions in a manner consistent with fair practice and respectful of the witnesses' other responsibilities," Duvall said in an email.
The State Department essentially challenged House Republicans to pick whether they would like Kerry to appear before Oversight or the select committee. Marie Harf, the deputy spokesperson for the State Department, said in the department's daily press briefing on Friday that Kerry "will appear once."
"They can work out in their caucus how they want to deal with this issue going forward," she said.
Issa has, thus far, been reluctant to cede complete control of the investigation to the select committee. On Thursday, he released an email showing the White House talked about contacting YouTube to warn of the "ramifications" of allowing an anti-Islamic video to be posted on the site.
Duvall told Business Insider Issa didn't consult with Gowdy about the release of the email. Democratic Rep. Elijah Cummings, the ranking member on the House Oversight Committee, said Issa's release undercut Republican claims the White House tried to "cover-up" the attack by blaming the video and that it genuinely believed the video sparked the attack. Issa, however, said it showed the White House was trying to settle on a "false narrative."
The full letter from the State Department to Issa is below: