As Rep. Adam Schiff called for the end of the investigative House committee on Benghazi he sits on, Republicans questioned just how much time Schiff has devoted to the committee.
Schiff, who penned his frustration with the House's Select Committee on Benghazi in a New York Times editorial Friday, slammed the committee for being "little more than a partisan tool to influence the presidential race" and detailed his apprehension when asked to join the committee. However, House Republicans had an important note to underscore Schiff's complaints — the California Democrat has only attended one out of the more than 45 Benghazi interviews.
"In fact, save for voting no to create the committee and then attending a press event on the now well-disproven Democrat talking point that all has been 'asked and answered,' Mr. Schiff has largely been a Member of the committee in absentia," a statement from Jamal Ware, spokesperson for the committee Republicans, said.
House Select Committee on Benghazi Ranking Member Rep. Elijah Cummings, D- Md., right, looks on as Rep. Adam Schiff, D-Ca., speaks with reporters after Cummings anounced the release of a website titled Benghazi on the Record during a news conference on Capitol Hill in Washington, Tuesday, Sept. 16, 2014. The website, according the Cummings, will collect in one place as much information as possible regarding questions about the attacks in Benghazi. (AP Photo/Cliff Owen)
"If Mr. Schiff truly cared about Benghazi and getting to the truth and contributing to the final, definitive accounting of what happened before, during and after the Benghazi terrorist attack, he would not sit on the outside casting stones and titling at Democrat strawmen, he would actually show up and help guide the direction of the investigation," Ware said.
Schiff's uncertainty about the committee has been prevalent since the beginning for him. In a May 2014 statement, Schiff said he didn't believe in the need for another investigative committee on Benghazi, but would join the committee " if it was felt [he] could add value."
"When I was asked to join the Select Committee, I was deeply skeptical about its true mission, and questioned whether I — or any other Democrat — should participate. After eight investigations, what could a ninth contribute? But I was determined to do my part," Schiff wrote in his Times editorial. "Since its formation, the Select Committee on Benghazi has been aimless and slow moving, not knowing what it was looking for or where. It has acted in a deeply partisan way, frequently failing to consult or even to inform Democratic members before taking action, and selectively leaking information to the press. After 16 months and more than $4 million, the committee has gained no additional insight into the attacks in Benghazi. It has nothing new to tell the families of those killed or the American people."
According to the Washington Examiner, Patrick Boland, Schiff's spokesperson, dismissed the Republicans' statement as their attempt "to distract from the fact that after representing a schedule earlier this year that would have already seen 10 public hearings, they have managed to hold precisely one — eight months ago."
"It's apparent that the metric for success of the Benghazi Committee is the political damage done to Secretary Clinton, not the search for the truth," Boland said.
Rep. Elijah Cummings (D-Md.) called Ware's statement "bizarre, highly defensive and erratic" and questioned whether Chairman Trey Gowdy (R-S.C.) had approved the statement before its release.
"I do not know if Chairman Gowdy approved his press staffer's statement, but it attacked members of Congress in a direct and offensive manner that I have never seen before," Cummings said, according to the Washington Examiner. "If the Chairman did not approve it, he may want to consider whether this individual is the appropriate person to represent the Benghazi Committee to the press and the American people."
My oped in the New York Times this morning: "Disband the Benghazi Committee." https://t.co/7fdgYenBlL via @nytopinion
— Adam Schiff (@RepAdamSchiff) September 4, 2015This Democrat has attended only one hour of one #Benghazi interview. The Committee has held more than 45. pic.twitter.com/Olhn50m4lN
— Benghazi Committee (@HouseBenghazi) September 4, 2015
