Father of slain CIA contractor joins GOP call for Benghazi probe

{mosads}Boehner and the leaders of the committees with jurisdiction over Benghazi oppose the creation of the select committee. Boehner told members on Tuesday that the five panels would soon brief them on the progress they’ve made investigating the Benghazi attack over the past seven months.

Rep. Mo Brooks (R-Ala.) said the administration was stonewalling Congress, requiring the creation of a powerful select committee with subpoena authority. He said Secretary of State John Kerry’s refusal to launch an investigation into Ambassador Susan Rice’s comments linking the attack to a protest gone awry proved the need for a special committee.

“That is hubris. That is not the way we expect our secretary of State to act. And that is cause for why we need a special committee … so we can conduct a thorough investigation and get to the truth of this matter.”

Rep. Chris Smith (R-N.J.), who chairs the Foreign Affairs Committee’s human rights panel, also endorsed the special panel. He was careful however not to criticize the committee’s chairman, who doesn’t support the panel.

“Yes, we have had hearings in the Foreign Affairs Committee, and I applaud the work that [Rep. Ed] Royce (R-Calif.) has done, and others have done,” he said. “But we need an inquiry into this that has a single-minded focus to get to the truth.”