Gowdy reiterates call for GOP to avoid Benghazi fundraising

Rep. Trey Gowdy (R-S.C.) on Wednesday reiterated his call for his Republican colleagues to avoid raising money off the creation of a select committee to investigate the 2012 terrorist attack in Benghazi, Libya.  

When confronted with news that the National Republican Congressional Committee had posted a blog about the committee that links to a fundraising page, Gowdy said “I cannot and will not raise money on Benghazi.”

{mosads}”I also advise my colleagues to follow suit and I think I did so in a pretty unambiguous way,” he added in an interview with CNN. 

Gowdy, who was selected to lead the panel, advised his colleagues earlier in the day to use him as an example of what is appropriate, saying he has “never sought to raise a single penny on the backs of four murdered Americans.” 

“Even if a culture of hyper-partisanship, certain things that ought to be above politics, like the murder of our four fellow Americans, and like whether or not you can trust what any administration, Republican or Democrat, tells you in the aftermath of a tragedy. That, to me, transcends politics,” he said on MSNBC before the NRCC blog was reported. 

The NRCC, the House Republican campaign arm, posted a number of blogs Tuesday about the forthcoming committee with the message, “Stand with Congressman Trey Gowdy, the Benghazi Select Committee, and House Republicans as we fight for the truth about what happened with the Benghazi terrorist attack,” which asks for the name and email address of supporters. 

Readers are then directed to a fundraising page that says “stop Democrats from controlling all of Washington” along with donation information.  

“The Obama administration has not been honest with the American people with regards to Benghazi, and if Nancy Pelosi becomes Speaker the American people will never know the truth,” NRCC spokeswoman Andrea Bozek said in a statement when asked for reaction from Gowdy’s comments. “Our goal is to hold Democrats in Congress accountable who continue to try and sweep this controversy under the rug.”

Democrats have pushed back on the creation of the committee as being politically motivated and some have called to boycott the committee if it is not evenly divided between Democrats and Republican members. House leadership has outlined a seven-to-five ratio of Republicans to Democrats. 

But Republicans have called the committee necessary after an email, which had not been turned over through congressional subpoenas, was made public for the first time last week that showed deputy national security adviser Ben Rhodes prepping former U.S. ambassador to the United Nations Susan Rice for interviews shortly after the attack.