Breaking: Petraeus to testify on Benghazi attacks; Update: Petraeus offered testimony

So far this is only a breaking headline at Fox News, but the word on Twitter is that former CIA Director David Petraeus has agreed to testify in both House and Senate intelligence committee hearings about the terrorist attack that killed four Americans and sacked our consulate in Benghazi.  That reverses the previous announcements that Petraeus would decline to testify and have acting DCI Michael Morell handle Congress in his stead.

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We’ll add more as the story develops.  This probably won’t mean any big surprises in the Benghazi story line, but it will give Congress an opening to demand answers on how the White House decided to push the spontaneous-movie-review meme for so long in the face of the overwhelming data that the attack was both deliberate and well-planned, with paramilitary forces, materiel, and tactics.

Fox does have a story link up, but with little detail as of yet.

Update: Fox reports that Petraeus initiated the agreement to talk with the committees, but at least one of these will be off-site and presumably behind closed doors:

After Petraeus’ resignation, lawmakers complained that the scandal was no reason they shouldn’t hear from the man at the helm of the CIA when CIA operatives came under attack alongside State Department employees in Benghazi last month.

The logistics of Petraeus’ appearance are still being worked out. But a source close to Petraeus said the former four-star general has contacted the CIA, as well as committees in both the House and Senate, to offer his testimony as the former CIA director.

Fox News has learned he is expected to speak off-site to the Senate Intelligence Committee on Friday about his Libya report.  The House side is still being worked out.

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Last night’s Fox News Special Report has a pretty good rundown of the kind of questions Petraeus is likely to face — especially what his role might have been in briefing Susan Rice before her appearances on five Sunday talk shows to push the false “spontaneous demonstration” story.

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Beege Welborn 5:00 PM | December 24, 2024
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