That's One of the Dumbest Questions I've Ever Heard': Sen. McCain Responds to a Reporter's Benghazi Question

Senators John McCain (R-Ariz.), Lindsey Graham (R-S.C), and Kelly Ayotte (R-N.H) during a press conference on Wednesday called for an deeper investigation into the attack on the U.S. Consulate in Benghazi that killed four Americans. But During the “Q&A” portion of that press conference, a reporter asked Sen. McCain whether he thought David Petraeus' sex scandal posed a greater threat to national security than the Benghazi attack.

The Arizona senator was blunt and unforgiving in his response: “That's one of the dumbest questions I've ever heard.”

“Senator,” the reporter began, “do you think there’s a potentially greater national security threat in, apparently, nearly thousands of pages of classified documents ending up on the personal computer of a Tampa socialite ... do you think that’s a potentially greater national security threat than what we’re talking about?”

“Well, I say with great respect,” Sen. McCain answered, “that’s one of the dumbest questions I’ve ever heard. Okay? There’s four dead Americans. Four dead Americans. Not a socialite.”

“It’s certainly a national security issues, but it doesn’t rise to the level of four dead Americans,” he added.

Follow Becket Adams (@BecketAdams) on Twitter

(H/T: BuzzFeed). This story has been updated.