Graham Fired Up: Benghazi Report ‘Full of Crap’

Graham expressed frustration over the committee doing a “lousy job policing their own”

Graham Fired Up: Benghazi Report ‘Full of Crap’ (Truth Revolt)

Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) gave an earful to CNN's Gloria Borger on Sunday's State of the Union saying the House Intelligence Committee's Benghazi report is "full of crap." 

Borger listed the report highlights: "No outright intelligence failure, No delay in attempts to rescue staff, No political cover-up." She asked Graham if this exonerates the Obama administration. Graham replied:

No! I think the report is full of crap, quite frankly.

Graham expressed frustration over the committee doing a "lousy job policing their own":

[A]nybody who has followed Benghazi at all knows that the CIA deputy director did not come forward to tell Congress what role he played in changing the talking points, and the only way we knew he was involved is when he told a representative at the White House, 'I'm going to do a hard review of this, a hard rewrite.'

He didn't tell the Congress, sitting in front of us, that he substantially rewrote the talking points. And who told Susan Rice that the compound consulate was substantially strong and significantly secured? That wasn't in the talking points, but she said that. Who told her that?

Borger quickly read the CIA deputy director's defense of receiving "conflicting information," but was more interested in moving on. Yet Graham interrupted, "Who changed the talking points? Who came out with the version most politically beneficial to the administration?" Graham explains that the director "sat quietly" when directly asked about who changed the talking points. "He sat there and misled the Congress," Graham said. "We only know later that he was involved when we found information gathered through a lawsuit."

Borger played a clip of Graham on Fox News earlier in the year calling for the firing of anyone caught lying over Benghazi. She then gleefully exclaimed that, according to the report, "No one lied, period."

"That's a complete bunch of garbage," the senator said.

"So why is the Republican chair of the House Intelligence Committee buying a bunch of garbage?" Borger asked.

"Good question," Graham replied. 

Graham said that is the very reason a joint select committee is needed and he thanked Trey Gowdy and Elijah Cummings for being at the helm. But Borger said the American people may be saying "enough already" after eight investigations into Benghazi. Graham defended another investigation:

[I]f we're overreaching -- if Trey Gowdy and Elijah Cummings are doing this for the wrong reasons, it will blow up in their face. If the things I'm saying about this episode fail to bear fruit, it will blow up in my face. But I know Benghazi pretty well… I don't buy the idea that the agency did not mislead the Congress because I was there when they misled me. I don't buy the idea that everything was just the State Department's problem and you had no blame yourselves. I don't believe that. 

Borger concluded, "OK, senator. Well, thank you very much on this. We know where you stand on it, certainly."

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