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3 in 4 say Benghazi committee politically motivated

by Jesse Byrnes - 10/22/15 8:48 AM ET

Nearly three in four Americans say the House Select Committee on Benghazi is mostly using its investigation to score political points, according to a new CNN/ORC poll.

Seventy-two percent said the panel is being used to score political points, compared to 23 percent who said it was carrying out an objective probe of the 2012 attack in Benghazi, Libya.

The survey results come as former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, the Democratic presidential front-runner, appears before the panel Thursday to testify on the attack.

The CNN poll found that 40 percent of Americans think the GOP-led congressional hearings into Benghazi have “gone too far,” down 4 points from before the summer.

Meanwhile, a slim majority, 51 percent, say Republicans have handled the hearings appropriately, up from 48 percent in late May and early June.

Two House Republicans, Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy (Calif.) and Rep. Richard Hanna (N.Y.), and a former committee staffer drew headlines for suggesting the panel was improperly focused on Clinton.

The CNN results are from a survey of slightly more than 500 adults conducted Oct. 14-17 immediately after the first Democratic debate last week with a margin of error of 4.5 points.

Tags Benghazi Benghazi committee Hillary Clinton Kevin McCarthy