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Susan Brooks Named To Benghazi Panel

Courtesy U.S. Congress

Congresswoman Susan Brooks (R-5th) has been named to a special House committee investigating the 2012 attack on the U.S. consulate in Benghazi, Libya.

Brooks will be one of seven Republicans reviewing the attack which killed the U.S. ambassador to Libya and three other Americans, and whether the Obama Administration gave an honest account of what happened. She says there are still unanswered questions about whether the consulate had requested additional security, and if so, how the State Department dealt with the request.

Republicans have accused the White House of deliberately downplaying terrorist connections to the attack, instead portraying it as a spontaneous response to an inflammatory YouTube video.

Other House committees have held hearings, but Speaker John Boehner ordered the special committee after a previously undisclosed email surfaced in which a White House aide laid out talking points for then-United Nations Ambassador Susan Rice which emphasized the YouTube explanation.

Democrats haven‘t decided whether they'll participate. Brooks says she expects the panel will treat the investigation as a "solemn responsibility," not an opportunity for political points. She says Congress needs to use its oversight power to determine if changes are needed to ensure embassies‘ safety in the future.