Hillary Clinton on the Benghazi committee: 'It found nothing'
The Republican-led House Select Committee on Benghazi released its long-awaited report Tuesday, and it contained no new evidence of wrongdoing on behalf of the former Secretary of State.
"I understand that after more than two years and $7 million spent by the Benghazi committee, out of taxpayer funds, it had to today report that it had found nothing, nothing to contradict the conclusions of the independent accountability board or the conclusions of the prior multiple earlier investigations carried out on a bipartisan basis in the Congress," Clinton said at a campaign event Tuesday.
"So while this unfortunately took on a partisan tinge, I want us to stay focused on what I've always wanted us to stay focused on, and that is the important work of diplomacy and development. That's especially true in dangerous places."
The committee, which was convened to investigate the events surrounding the deaths of ambassador Christopher Stevens and three other Americans at a US diplomatic compound in Benghazi, Libya, focused its investigation on the Obama administration as a whole, rather than singling out Clinton.
But the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee has been the target of much criticism about how she handled the aftermath of the attacks. She and other Obama administration officials blamed the attack on spontaneous protests over an online video, but further investigation revealed that it was likely the work of Al Qaeda-linked terrorists.
At the event Tuesday, Clinton used the attack as proof that US involvement in the world is needed. This is likely a veiled shot at her likely 2016 rival, Donald Trump, who is running on a platform of "America first."
"We cannot withdraw or retreat from the world," Clinton said. "America needs a presence for a lot of reasons and the best way to honor the commitment and the sacrifice of those we lost is to redouble our efforts to provide the resources and support that our diplomats and our development experts deserve."
Clinton then called for everyone to move on from the attack and its aftermath.
"I'll leave it to others to characterize this report but I think it's pretty clear it's time to move on," she said.