The House Oversight committee chairman released Secretary of State John Kerry from his obligation to testify next month about the deadly Benghazi attack, allowing a newly formed select committee to move forward in questioning the top diplomat, according to The Associated Press.
Representative Darrell Issa accused Kerry of trying to use his June 12 appearance before the oversight panel as an excuse to avoid testifying before the select House committee investigating the Sept. 11, 2012, assault on the Libyan outpost, the AP reported.
The State Department said last week that the secretary would testify before Issa's panel but that the appearance "would remove any need for the secretary to appear before the select committee to answer additional questions," according to the AP.
Issa had twice subpoenaed Kerry to testify about emails and other documents that the Obama administration has provided Congress about the attack, the AP reported. After weeks of back and forth, Kerry had told the panel he could testify next month, and Issa agreed.
State Department spokeswoman Jen Psaki told reporters on Friday that officials were "mystified" by Issa's decision as well as his criticism that Kerry has obstructed the probe, according to the AP. It's "hard to see how that's accurate when we were prepared to appear," Psaki said.
Republicans have accused the administration of misleading the American people about the attack, playing down a terror attack in the weeks before the 2012 presidential election, and then stonewalling congressional investigators, the AP reported.
The House voted along party lines on May 8 to establish a select committee to conduct an eighth probe led by Representative Trey Gowdy, according to the AP.
In creating the panel, the House also required the committees involved in Benghazi investigations, including Armed Services, Intelligence and Oversight, to turn over all their documents within 14 days to the select committee, the AP reported. That leaves that panel as the main congressional investigator, essentially ending the other probes, including Issa's.
