WASHINGTON — With the elections over, congressional Republicans will grill Obama administration officials next week about their handling of the Sept. 11 Benghazi consulate attack.
Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton will be one of the honchos in the hot seat at a Nov. 15 hearing conducted by the House Foreign Affairs Committee.
“Listen, this falls directly on her shoulders, and the secretary needs to be there,” Rep. Mike Kelly (R-Pa.), a committee member, said yesterday. “She needs to come forward. She’s been profoundly missing from the scene. It’s essential.”
The House Intelligence Committee will hold a separate hearing the same day to investigate the assault on the US Consulate in Libya that killed four Americans, including Ambassador Christopher Stevens.
Others expected to testify include CIA Director Gen. David Petraeus, National Intelligence Director James Clapper and Matt Olsen, director of the National Counter-Terrorism Center.
Meanwhile, UN Libya special envoy Tarek Mitri told the UN Security Council yesterday that protests in Libya after the attack should prompt “security-sector reform” there.