US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton testifies before the House Foreign Affairs Committee on the September 11, 2012 attack on the US mission in Benghazi, Libya in the Rayburn House Office Building on January 23, 2013 in Washington, DC. Credit: AFP/Getty Images
During Wednesday's House hearing on Benghazi, Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (R-Fla.) pressed Secretary of State Hillary Clinton to explain why the four State Department employees cited for leadership failures prior to the attack were only placed on administrative leave and not fired.
"First, all four individuals have been removed from their jobs," Clinton began. "Secondly, they have been placed on administrative leave. Thirdly, Ambassador Pickering and Admiral Mullen highlighted the reason why this has been so complicated. Under federal statute and regulations, unsatisfactory leadership is not grounds for finding a breach of duty."
"Fourth, I have submitted legislation to this committee and to the Senate committee to fix this problem so future ARBs (Accountability Review Board) will not face this situation. Because I agree with you, there ought to be more leeway given to the ARBs."
A previous report by the New York Post revealed that the State Department employees who "resigned" remained on the government payroll.
Per a previous report by TheBlaze:
Assistant Secretary of State Eric Boswell has not “resigned” from government service and will merely be switching desks, according to officials. The other three officials were placed on administrative leave and are expected to return to work soon.
Four Americans, including U.S. Ambassador Chris Stevens, were killed in Benghazi when armed terrorists raided a U.S. compound in Libya. The attack was originally blamed on a protest sparked by an anti-Muslim YouTube video. However, an Accountability Review Board found that version to be completely false. The board’s report blamed the attack on terrorists alone and found there was not demonstration outside the U.S. Mission prior to the attack.
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