UPDATE — 4:15 p.m. ET: Secretary of State John Kerry now says he will comply with "whatever responsibilities" he has to Congress over Benghazi.
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Secretary of State John Kerry won't comply with a subpoena he received to appear before the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee on May 21, a spokeswoman said Monday.
Marie Harf, the deputy spokesperson for the State Department, said during a press conference that Kerry will be unable to attend the special hearing because he will be on a previously scheduled trip to Mexico that day.
Secretary of State John Kerry speaks during a news conference at the U.S. Ambassador to France's residence in Paris, Sunday, March 30, 2014, after meeting with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov about the situation in Ukraine. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin, Pool)
Oversight Committee Chairman Darrell Issa (R-Calif.) issued a subpoena to Kerry earlier this month, demanding the secretary testify about the deadly attacks in Benghazi that left four Americans dead.
"We’re going to be in Mexico," Harf repeatedly told reporters, when pressed on whether Kerry would comply with the congressional subpoena.
"Do you see how members of — some members of Congress think that the production of this document last week, this infamous email now, is suggestive that you are not — that this building and the Administration as a whole has not been forthcoming and is slow-walking or even attempting to hide," a reporter asked, according to a transcript of the briefing.
"No, not at all," Harf responded.
"You don’t see how anyone can see that?" the reporter asked.
"I don't, no" Harf said.
On Monday, House Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) announced that he had appointed Rep. Trey Gowdy (R-S.C.) to head a select committee to investigate the attacks.
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