Posted on 05/11/2014 10:12:27 AM PDT by jazusamo
A senior House Democrat said Sunday the party is ready to participate in the Benghazi select committee as long as the process is fair, open and balanced.
Rep. Xavier Becerra (D-Calif.), who as caucus chairman is the fourth-ranking House Democrat, would not commit to the party appointing members to the new House panel, but he said Democrats did not have specific demands like a requirement to sign off on the issuing of subpoenas. If its a fair, open and balanced process then absolutely, Becerra said on Fox News Sunday when asked if Democrats would participate in the select committee. But we dont want to see reckless irresponsible handling of an affair that took the lives of four brave Americans.
Weve always said that were ready to participate, he added. We have an oversight responsibility in Congress. What we dont want to see is reckless and irresponsible use of taxpayer money to do these witch hunts.
While Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) has appointed all seven Republican members to the committee that the House voted to establish last week, Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) left for the weekend without naming any Democrats to the panel. She told reporters the caucus is split on whether to participate, with some lawmakers urging a boycott on the grounds that the committee is politically motivated and unnecessary.
But on Sunday, Becerra said Democrats simply did not want to be excluded from key decisions.
What were simply saying is 'make it a process where we cant be excluded from the interviewing of witnesses, where we cant be excluded when a decision is made to subpoena a witness,' he said. 'Make it so were all in the room when were reviewing the documents that are supposed to be evidence.' What we dont want to be is excluded. We dont want the American public to be shut out.
Appearing on the same program, committee Chairman Trey Gowdy (R-S.C.) sought to dispel Democratic concerns they would be shut out.
I dont run my committees the way that Democrats are fearful of, he said. I want everyone to say it was fair, it was exhaustive, and we knew more than we did when it started.
Gowdy said Republicans would be punished if they overplay their hand in the probe of an attack that killed four Americans at the U.S. consulate on Sept. 11, 2012. And he repeated his call for the GOP to forbid fundraising pitches off the Benghazi select committee.
He said that while he wanted to ask former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton why the U.S. remained in Benghazi despite warnings of deteriorating security, the committee was not out to get her.
I have no friends to reward and no foes to punish, Gowdy said.
Give us a break Becerra, the families of the four murdered Americans deserve answers that this select committee can provide and the only way you'll be "excluded" is if you boycott the committee.
How bout an 8-5 balance like Nancy Pelosi’s global warming commission was?
The only way we’re going to achieve “fair, open and balance” is to keep the commie ‘RATs out of it.
Only carefully considered money, then ?
But they are perfectly fine with reckless and irresponsible use of taxpayer money to do those whitewash "investigations" like the internal reviews that forgot to interview key players.
Dems will participate in Benghazi panel if it will never come to a conclusion, hold anyone accountable, or tell the truth they mean.
I would suggest that the committee should reflect the exact balance of committees that were used when Nancy Pelosi was Speaker. In fact that is exactly what Bohner has done. 41% for the minority party.
The last select committee under Pelosi’s rule was as follows:
In 2007, the House created a Select Committee on Energy Independence and Global Warming. As Speaker, Pelosi set up the structure. There were nine Democrats and six Republicans.
I don’t think we needs a bunch of showboating DemocRATS involved in these hearings. They don’t know how to behave themselves.
As long as the democrats get to decide what is fair, opened and balanced, right?
Amen...They don’t want the real truth, that’s how they arrive at “their” truth.
Those words didn't apply at the time of the attack nor the aftermath in the following weeks.
That says it all about Pelosi and Dem hypocrisy.
Or the $555 billion down the Solyndra rat hole.
And if we had a real man as speaker, he would simply say this:
If the Democrat’s refuse to appoint members to this committee I will Remove ALL DEMOCRATS from EVERY COMMITTEE IN THE HOUSE.
Too late Dems, you already opted out, boycott news blasted all over the news services, fergitboutit!
Seems about right.
Just saying.
I would suggest they put headless dummies in the dems committee seats....
I doubt anyone would notice the difference....
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