Benghazi Victim’s Uncle Writes Open Letter to Trey Gowdy
An Open Letter to Chairman Trey Gowdy and the Other Members of the House Select Committee on Benghazi
Dear Chairman Gowdy:
My name is Michael Ingmire. I am the Uncle of Benghazi murder victim Sean Smith. Since December 2012, when I sent a letter of support to Congressman Frank Wolf, I have pushed for a bipartisan Select Committee to investigate the before, during, and aftermath of the September 11, 2012 attack.
The need for accountability and truth about Benghazi is not an issue that is a monopoly of either political party. For the truth needs no political party as its advocate. I was very pleased when you were selected as Chairman of the House Select Committee on Benghazi. I do believe that you are a man of integrity and honor.
The October 22nd appearance of former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton was a disappointment as Secretary Clinton was allowed to obfuscate the process and pontificate. Secretary Clinton seemed to treat her testimony before the committee as another campaign speech.
There was a need for a shorter and more direct process of questioning. Here are some succinct questions.
- Secretary Clinton, what was the national security crisis facing America from Libya that required our presence?
- Secretary Clinton, why did you refuse to negotiate with Gaddafi when his representatives directly called the State Department?
- Secretary Clinton, why did the Obama Administration arm the members of the Libyan Transitional National Council without vetting them appropriately?
- Secretary Clinton, who was your point of contact for the risk assessment when establishing the diplomatic outpost in Benghazi? What were their recommendations?
- The CIA operators that responded to the crisis stated they were given an order to stand down. Secretary Clinton, who gave the stand down order the night of the attack?
- Secretary Clinton, on the night of the attack, who did you contact to deploy the rapid response team?
- Secretary Clinton, why was no aid sent to our Americans that were under attack?
- Secretary Clinton, considering the atmosphere in Benghazi, why did you ignore the repeated requests for additional security and actually reduce the amount of security on September 11, 2012?
- Secretary Clinton, why did you lie to the family members of the victims as you stood beside the coffins?
I realize that some of these questions were briefly addressed during the October 22nd hearing and perhaps touched on more fully during the closed door portions of the committee’s work. Ultimately, that will be determined by the Benghazi Select Committee’s final report.
In closing, the behavior of some of your committee members, particularly Reps. Cummings, Schiff, and Smith, dishonored the ultimate sacrifice of Stevens, Smith, Doherty, and Woods with their lack of statesman-like behavior. Reps. Cummings, Schiff, and Smith, I would advise you to resign from the committee. You are an embarrassment to the goal of the committee in finding out the truth about Benghazi and your obstructionist tactics are an insult to family members such as myself.
Chairman Gowdy, please refocus the committee’s procedural process and take firm control of the committee. Additionally, please recall Secretary Clinton as a witness. The release of more e-mails leads one to believe that Secretary Clinton may have perjured herself in her October 22nd testimony.
Sincerely,
Michael K. Ingmire
