Clinton says she will testify before Benghazi Committee

by Jordain Carney - 07/25/15 10:49 AM ET

Hillary Clinton will testify in October before the committee investigating that 2012 Benghazi terrorist attack that killed four Americans, a spokesman said.

Clinton campaign spokesman Nick Merrill said the the former secretary of State will testify during a public hearing before the select committee after months of rhetorical battling between Clinton and lawmakers over her role in the attack.

“Earlier this week we were pleased for Secretary Clinton to receive an offer from Congressman Gowdy to appear before the committee in a public hearing in October, and yesterday accepted his invitation,” Merrill said in a statement.

But it isn’t clear Clinton’s appearance is set in stone. In response to reports that the former administration official would testify, a spokesperson for the committee said that negotiations were still ongoing.

{mosads}“Secretary Clinton’s campaign may want to reach out to her lawyer, Mr. David Kendall, with whom the Committee has had ongoing conversations. As of last night, Mr. Kendall was still negotiating conditions for her appearance,” Jamal Ware, the committee’s communications director, said in a statement.

He added that Kendall is also pushing for Clinton’s testimony to be limited to the Benghazi attack and not the controversy over her personal email server, something Republicans on the committee would likely object to.

Ware argued that the Clinton’s use of a private server “clearly falls within the scope” of the committee, adding that “the Committee will not, now or ever, accept artificial limitations on its congressionally-directed jurisdiction or efforts to meet the responsibilities assigned to the Committee by the House of Representatives.”

The committee is expected to announce a hearing date for Clinton once, and if, it believes an agreement has been reached with her lawyers.

Clinton has been under the congressional spotlight because of her use of personal email server. Key House Republicans, including House Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio), demanded that Clinton turn over the personal email server she used while serving in the State Department’s top post. The department has reportedly asked federal investigators to look into the arrangement.

Boehner said in a statement Friday that “if Secretary Clinton truly has nothing to hide, she can prove it by immediately turning over her server to the proper authorities and allowing them to examine the complete record.”

Clinton’s lawyers have previously offered to have her testify in a public hearing before the committee, and criticized Republicans of being able to use a closed hearing to selectively leak Clinton’s testimony.

– Updated at 2:01 p.m.

Tags Benghazi Hillary Clinton