Repeatedly, in answer to Ayotte's probing about communications between Panetta and the White House, Panetta explains plainly that, apart from a scheduled meeting in the afternoon of September 11, he had no contact with Obama that day. The president was not involved, and did not wish to be involved, in the communications and decision-making processes of that day. An ongoing terrorist attack on his administration's diplomatic mission in a volatile region on the eleventh anniversary of September 11, 2001 was not considered worthy of his direct involvement.
Ayotte: Did he ever call you that night to say, "How are things going? What's going on?"
Panetta: No, but we were aware that as we were getting information on what was taking place there, particularly when we got information that the ambassador -- his life had been lost, we were aware that that information went to the White House.
Ayotte: Did you communicate with anyone else at the White House that night?
Panetta: No.
Ayotte: No one else called you to say, "How are things going?"
Panetta: No.
Through it all, Obama's White House simply did not respond or engage. Given the auspiciousness of the date and the seriousness of the attack, we must now ask, with the utmost gravity, "Why not?"
How was he made aware? Who told him that information was going to the WH -- and who was getting it there -- and how?
Why wasn't he asked this?