Missouri’s senior senator is defending how Hillary Clinton performed before a Congressional Committee yesterday when it asked her questions related to the death of four Americans in Benghazi.
Senator Claire McCaskill (D), a supporter of Clinton’s presidential bid, said on CNN Republicans on the House Select Committee on Benghazi tried to fit what happened in Benghazi into a narrative, and failed.
“It’s awkward to watch them try to force the facts around some notion that she was unengaged, that she didn’t care, that she was cavalier, that she wasn’t involved, that she wasn’t knowledgeable,” said McCaskill during a break in Thursday’s hearing.
Clinton has been criticized for not giving those four Americans security they asked for, but McCaskill says Clinton had asked for more money for embassy security.
“All of these requests come in and you have to have experts who evaluate them and rank the risks and decide where they should move, and where they can’t move, based on the budget they were given,” said McCaskill.
McCaskill said the hearings didn’t plow any new ground.
“I think this is the 32nd hearing. We have 11 published reports. We have eight different committees who have investigated, and have we really heard anything new today?” asked McCaskill, who calls the hearings a waste of taxpayer money.
Republicans maintain Clinton is to blame for security lapses in Benghazi and accuse her of avoiding scrutiny and changing her story.