Ex-CIA deputy: GOP politicizing Benghazi

The CIA’s former deputy director is charging that Republicans have politicized the deadly 2012 assault on the U.S diplomatic outpost in Benghazi, Libya. 

Michael Morell, in a forthcoming book, rejects the claim that U.S. military and CIA officers “were ordered to stand down and not come to the rescue of their comrades,” according to The New York Times.

{mosads}Morell, who retired in 2013, also states that there is  “no evidence” to back the allegation that “there was a conspiracy between the CIA and the White House to spin the Benghazi story in a way that would protect the political interests” of President Obama and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.

However, he chides the White House for embellishing talking points about the deadly incident and for blocking the CIA from sending its internal conclusions to Congress.

Morell’s book, titled The Great War of Our Time, will be released next week.

Clinton, the front-runner for the Democratic 2016 presidential nomination, will appear later this month before the House panel investigating the Benghazi attack.

The first hearing, which could occur the week of May 18, will examine her use of a personal email server while acting as the nation’s top diplomat. The second, set to take place in June, will look at Clinton’s role pertaining to the deadly assault.

Democrats have long contended that the panel’s investigation is a partisan witch hunt meant to hurt Clinton’s White House bid.

The select committee’s final report on the attack that left four Americans dead is likely to be delayed until some time in 2016, well into the presidential calendar. 

However, panel Chairman Trey Gowdy (R-S.C.) maintains he wants to publish the findings before then.