Rep. Trey Gowdy Explodes at Libya Hearing: 'I Want to Know Why We Were Lied To

Trey Gowdy, an outspoken Republican congressman from South Carolina, blasted Obama administration officials during Wednesday's House Oversight and Government Reform Committee hearing on the Libya U.S. Consulate terrorist attack, raising his voice to levels rarely heard on the House floor.

Gowdy went after both U.S. Ambassador Susan Rice and White House Press Secretary Jay Carney for providing "demonstrably false" statements about the attack, not just to Congress, but to the American people as well. He slammed the Obama administration for initially saying the attack was in response to a video and not an act of terrorism, delivering a blistering and impassioned critique of the White House's handling of the incident.

Gowdy quoted Rice as saying, "Our current assessment is that what happened in Beghazi was…in fact, initially a spontaneous reaction" to an anti-Muslim YouTube video.

"I don't know what the phrase "in fact" means in diplomatic legalese. I can tell you what it means in a court room -- it means it's a fact," Gowdy proclaimed.

"I would like to have another hearing where we can ask Ambassador Rice, under oath, who told you what when. You are going to blame the intelligence committee? You come before this committee and you tell us who told you it was video!" he added, raising his voice now.

Gowdy went on to say that Carney, the "spokesperson of the leader of the free world," also went on the record saying there was no evidence supporting the theory that the attack on the U.S. Consulate in Libya was premeditated. Carney also blamed the anti-Muslim video for the assault.

"Was it negligence? What it just a reckless disregard for the truth? or was it more nefarious than that?" the congressman asked.

Gowdy then recounted a conversation he had with Rep. Jason Chaffetz (R-Utah) just before the House Oversight Committee hearing.

"He still gets emotional talking about what he saw in Libya. There were four Americans who died under circumstances we can scarcely fathom. The terror, the fear, the anarchy of being killed in that fashion," he explained, his voice soaked with emotion.

"This was never about a video! It was never spontaneous! This is terror, and I want to know why we were lied to," Gowdy said.

Watch the clip below:

Shortly after he spoke, Twitter exploded with talk about Gowdy's remarks at the hearing:

GOP Rep. Gowdy: GET SUSAN RICE UNDER OATH! "I wanna know why we were lied to!" #benghazi

— Michelle Malkin (@michellemalkin) October 10, 2012

Gowdy -- volume goes to 11. #SpinalTap

— Jake Tapper (@jaketapper) October 10, 2012

Was it negligence, a reckless disregard for the truth, or something worse? - Gowdy

— David Limbaugh (@DavidLimbaugh) October 10, 2012

Gowdy is a Beast. BeastMode is his only mode.

— Right Scoop (@trscoop) October 10, 2012

"This was never about a video. It was never spontaneous” this was terror “and I want to know why we were lied to.” - Gowdy

— Sean Agnew (@seanagnew) October 10, 2012

Congressman Trey Gowdy is trending!#sctweets @tgowdysc

— Jonathan Dix (@JonathanDixSC) October 10, 2012