Sen. Rand Paul repeats already debunked Benghazi lies on this Sunday's Meet the Press and is met by crickets from host David Gregory.
June 22, 2014

From this Sunday's Meet the Press, host David Gregory once again proves himself to be about as useful as a potted plant when Republicans come on his show and tell already debunked lies: NBC's David Gregory Falls Silent In The Face Of Debunked Benghazi Myths:

NBC's David Gregory pointed a series of questions about Hillary Clinton's role in the 2012 Benghazi attacks to Senator Rand Paul (R-KY), allowing Paul to attack Clinton with the long-debunked smear that she was aware of the need for additional security forces at the Benghazi compound yet denied the requests.

On the June 22 edition of NBC's Meet The Press, host David Gregory posed a series of questions on Hillary Clinton's role in the 2012 attacks on diplomatic facilities in Benghazi, Libya, but failed to correct Sen. Paul's false smears that Clinton refused requested security. While discussing the possibility of Clinton running for president in 2016, Gregory asked Sen. Paul about whether "the prosecution of foreign policy," is "the main argument" against Clinton's candidacy. In his response, Paul invoked the debunked myth that Hillary Clinton refused "multiple requests for more security" in the months leading up the attacks. [...]

But Sen. Paul's smear is based on an old, discredited right-wing media attempt to blame Hillary Clinton for the deaths of U.S. personnel in the Benghazi attacks that originated with an April 2013 Republican Report. The report claimed that an April 2012 cable, sent under Clinton's name, was a "critical cable" that called for reductions in security in response to to the U.S. ambassador's request for additional security resources. The report's evidence that the cable came from Clinton was that it bore her signature, though as Media Matters noted at the time, "several news outlets reported that it is routine for outgoing messages from the State Department to be sent under the secretary's name without the secretary's direct involvement."

Sen. Paul's claims have been discredited for quite some time -- Clinton's signature was standard for every cable, and does not indicate her direct involvement in the cable. Read on...

Transcript via NBC:

DAVID GREGORY: You have blamed Republicans and Democrats over the last ten plus years for the prosecution of foreign policy. That would include Secretary of State Hilary Clinton- if she’s a candidate for President- and you’re a candidate for President- is this the main argument against her candidacy in a campaign by you?

SEN. RAND PAUL: I think if you want to be Commander-in-Chief the bar you have to cross is will you defend the country- will you provide adequate security- and that’s why Benghazi is not a political question for me. To me it’s not the talking points- that’s never been the most important part of Benghazi- it’s the six months leading up to Benghazi where there were multiple requests for more security- and it never came. This was under Hillary Clinton’s watch. She will have to overcome that- and we will make her answer for Benghazi.

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