Ex-Clinton aide Sidney Blumenthal’s testimony on Benghazi delayed

The appearance of a former aide to Hillary Clinton before the House Select Committee on Benghazi has been delayed.

“Sidney Blumenthal’s testimony has been postponed due to scheduling issues,” a Democratic committee spokesman told The Hill on Wednesday.

The GOP-controlled panel investigating the deadly attacks in Benghazi, Libya, subpoenaed Blumenthal last month, demanding he appear before the committee by June 3 to give a deposition.

In a statement provided by his attorney, Blumenthal, who served as an unofficial adviser to Clinton while she was secretary of State, said he would cooperate with the select committee.

Last month, the State Department made public roughly 300 emails from the private email server Clinton used during her time at the State Department. They showed she received about 25 memos on Libya from Blumenthal, including one that initially blamed the 2012 Benghazi siege on a “sacrilegious” Internet video.

A follow-up memo attributed it to a terrorist attack.

The 2016 presidential contender forwarded some of those messages on to her senior staff, in some cases asking them to investigate the findings, without identifying Blumenthal as the source. 

He has become a central figure in the GOP’s recent political attacks on Clinton.

On Tuesday the Republican National Committee released a new video that accused her of keeping questionable allies, especially Blumenthal, whom Clinton reportedly paid $10,000 a month to report on ground conditions in Libya.

The RNC kept up the attack on Wednesday, sending out a email titled “Shady Sid Hits The Hill” that said Blumenthal was due to appear before the Benghazi panel.