Posted on 04/30/2014 12:07:31 PM PDT by Sub-Driver
April 30, 2014, 02:39 pm Carney: Email was not about Benghazi
By Justin Sink
Press secretary Jay Carney said Wednesday that a newly-revealed email showing a White House official preparing then-U.S. ambassador Susan Rice for television interviews was not explicitly in reference to the terror attack in Benghazi.
"The email and the talking points were not about Benghazi," Carney said. "They were about the general situation in the Muslim world."
A set of documents obtained by the conservative watchdog group Judicial Watch through a Freedom of Information Act request included an email from deputy national security adviser Ben Rhodes to other senior White House and administration officials outlining “goals” for Rice’s Sunday talk show appearances following the attack.
In the email, Rhodes says Rice should “underscore that these protests are rooted in an Internet video, and not a broader failure of policy."
Rhodes also wrote the White House hoped the appearance would “reinforce the president and administration's strength and steadiness in dealing with difficult challenges."
Republicans have seized on the document to argue that the White House was responsible Rice's comments during the interviews. On the Sunday shows, Rice suggested that the violence in Benghazi grew spontaneously out of protests over an anti-Islam YouTube video. The administration later said intelligence indicated the Benghazi attack was deliberate and organized.
On Tuesday, Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) called the documents a "smoking gun."
"It shows political operatives in the White House working to create a political narrative at odds with the facts," Graham said. "Their goal was not to tell the truth about what actually happened. They did not want to provide the best information available. Instead, we were provided the most beneficial political story for President Obama."
But Carney maintained Wednesday that the email highlighting the anti-Islam video only sought to explain the general unrest in the region, and not the Benghazi attack.
"It was explicitly not about Benghazi," Carney said. "It was about the overall situation in the region, the Muslim world, where you saw protests outside of embassy facilities across the region, including in Cairo, Sanaa, Khartoum and Tunis. And the so-called talking points around Benghazi, as you know because it's been substantially reported on, were prepared by the CIA."
Carney went on to say that the email was merely evidence the White House was preparing Rice to discuss "the overall issue of unrest in the Muslim world." He read network promotions that aired ahead of Rice's interviews to demonstrate that the other protests were of interest.
"This was part of our effort to explain our views, both as a matter of policy and as a matter of what was happening on the ground with regards to the protests that were underway around the region," Carney said.
The White House spokesman also maintained the Rhodes email had not been turned over to congressional investigators sooner because it was not directly related to Benghazi.
A representative for House Oversight Committee Chairman Darrell Issa (R-Calif.) accused the State Department of “hiding this email and other documents” requested by the committee in a statement Wednesday to The Daily Beast.
“It is disturbing that this highly important email showing a White House role in pushing a false narrative was only turned over after it was discovered by the Department’s FOIA office in response to a specific request. While he had promised cooperation, by hiding subpoenaed documents from Congress, Secretary [John] Kerry is failing to meet his legal obligations,” said committee staff director Frederick Hill.
The White House also defended Rhodes' role in preparing Rice for the appearance, despite Republican criticism that the email demonstrates the administration was concerned about the political fallout.
“As is the case for every Sunday… when other administration officials go out, documents are prepared that anticipate questions from the press and provide answers based on our policy and our best understanding of what's happening at the time," Carney said. "That's standard operating procedure."
Carney: “Email was not about Benghazi”
Implied: “Only a RASSISS!! would think this is connected to Benghazi”
And Hillary ..... lying to the parents over the very bodies of their children. Maybe that’s why she’s talking about her religion so much these days .... trying to keep the Devil at arm’s length. [/s]
Srsly?! Preposterous. CarneyBarker shows the WH press corp how weak they are and how he disdains them. He's pissing all over them and telling them it's raining.
And the lap dogs are taking it. Too bad that they possess no shame or embarrassment.
For what crime? I can see obstruction perhaps, or for illegal arms shipments if indeed they were intending on sending arms to Syria via Libyan rebels when the attack occurred or is a direct result of.
But just because the White House defined a more favorable narrative doesn’t violate any actual laws. They’ve given themselves a plausible but rather anemic justification.
and the money quote:
Veteran Washington attorney W. Neil Eggleston, who served in the Clinton administration, was named Monday as the White House’s top lawyer.
Clearly, the e-mail wasn’t about Benghazi. I mean, Benghazi happened on 9.11.12 and the e-mail was dated 9.14.12 ... DUH! How stupid are you people?
You people? That’s racist.
Otto states, “W. Neil Eggleston makes his living defending politicians against criminal charges and going up against congressional investigations.” And he concludes, “Which begs the question: Exactly what is Barack Hussein Obama so worried about? Which investigation or accusation does he believe is powerful enough to bring down his Presidency? It has to be something serious for the President to hire the top political criminal defense attorney as the White House Chief Counsel… “
While discussing White House scandals, Otto adds, “not only has Barrack Obama broken the law, but he is also attempting to cover it up.”
hahaha! you stole my thunder... Baghdad Bob certainly comes to mind :)
Tell a lie so often till it is believable, isn’t working so much anymore. Carney is a commie weasel.
CGato
Dance all day long at the CapiTol Mall, Jay.
It won’t make a difference on the hell that 2015 portends for zerO and the wrecking crews.
WASHINGTON — President Obama announced Monday that he was naming W. Neil Eggleston, a veteran lawyer with extensive experience representing government officials in congressional and criminal investigations, as his next White House counsel.
In choosing a veteran of Washington’s recurring oversight wars, the White House may be signaling that it expects the final two years of Mr. Obama’s presidency to be defined by politically charged hearings, demands for information by Republicans in Congress and legal battles over the scope and limits of executive authority.
Mr. Eggleston has also represented businesspeople in complex criminal investigations. Among other things, he was a counsel for Enron’s outside directors.
After working in the White House early in the Clinton administration, Mr. Eggleston entered the private sector.
He represented Federico Peña, then the Clinton administration’s transportation secretary, and later Alexis M. Herman, then its labor secretary, during corruption investigations that ended without any charges being filed.
And in 2001, Mr. Eggleston represented Cheryl D. Mills, a board member of the Clinton presidential library foundation, during a congressional investigation into President Bill Clinton’s last-minute pardon of the fugitive financier Marc Rich, whose former wife had donated to the foundation.
The fortifications begin .. Again..
For the most transparent adminstration ever.
Popcorn futures jumped off the chart.
Yet the LSM media will take his lies as gospel.
Jay’s Jedi knight skills must be rusty.
Haha! Good One. On a side note the Meterosexuals Beard refused to go on O’Reilly last night to pitch the book she co-wrote. I guess she didn't want to answer the hard question like why Communist Soviet Propaganda posters adorn their House.
Perhaps knowingly and willfully arming Al-Qaeda, a terrorist organization that destroyed the Twin Towers and with whom America has been in a hard fought , world wide 10 + year war with, with advanced weapons (including several thousand Russian shoulder launched anti aircraft missiles for terror attacks on air liners) from Gadaffi’s Libyan inventory and then transferring them to Syria and other countries to commit acts of terror to overthrow governments
It is also possible that very advanced American weapons such as Stinger missiles were also covertly provided to Al Qaeda by the Obama Administration via the Dept of State ,
There is a legal term for individuals who provide aid and comfort to an enemy of the United States, and Al Qaeda certainly qualifies as an enemy, during a time of war and we most certainly are at war with Al Qaeda.
It's called treason and treason is a capitol offense.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.