Issa forced to issue subpoena to get cooperation from State Department

Darrell Issa has subpoenaed additional records from Secretary of State John Kerry regarding the Obama administration's talking points following the terrorist attack on Benghazi. Issa discovered that the documents previously provided to his committee were incomplete.

WASHINGTON, DC (Catholic Online) - Rep. Darrell Issa (R-CA) the head of the House Oversight Committee, said the documents sent in response to his request or information on Benghazi, were incomplete. The documents sent by Secretary of State John Kerry did not answer critical questions about the incident and the administration's role in the attacks.

Issa also noted the documents were released to the media five days in advance of being delivered to the Congressional Committee.

The documents include just 100 emails and are not complete.

To obtain the full record, Issa has subpoenaed the State Department to properly provide the information. The subpoena "covers documents and the communications related to talking points prepared for members of the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence and used by Ambassador Susan Rice during her September 16th, 2012, appearances on CBS, NBC, ABC, Fox, and CNN," Issa said.

Commenting that "he was left with no alternative" he issued the subpoena.

The Oversight Committee is working diligently to find out what really happened in Benghazi and why President Obama did not make a better effort to protect the mission there. A terrorist attack on Sept. 11, 2012, killed American Ambassador Chris Stevens and three other Americans.

President Obama initially blamed protests over a controversial video produced in the U.S. as the reason for the attack and downplayed its significance. However, subsequent investigation proved it was an organized attack staged by an al Qaeda affiliate as retaliation for the killing of Osama bin Laden and the anniversary of the 9-11 attacks on the United States.

The Committee wants to know what Obama and other administration officials knew and if more could have been done to protect the Ambassador and the mission in Benghazi. Moreover, the Committee wants to know if Obama insisted on lying to the American people because of his pending reelection.

Obama is believed to have instructed Secretary of State Spokesperson Victoria Nunland and U.N. Ambassador Susan Rice to tell the public the attacks were not terror related.

The State Department has not yet agreed to comply with Issa's subpoena but issued this statement, "The State Department remains committed to working cooperatively with the Congress and we will take stock of any new or outstanding requests for information, and determine the appropriate next steps."

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