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In a letter to the committee Thursday, Assistant Secretary of Defense for Legislative Affairs Stephen Hedger charged Republican investigators with employing a variety of "unproductive" tactics, including "continuous threats" to subpoena Pentagon employees, "multiple and changing requests" to DoD and interviews that prompt speculation by witnesses.
"While I understand your stated intent is to conduct the most comprehensive review of the attack and response, Congress has as much an obligation as the Executive Branch to use federal resources and taxpayer dollars effectively and efficiently," Hedger wrote.
"The Department is working diligently to accommodate your staff’s multiple and changing requests; however, we are concerned by the continuous threats from your staff to subpoena witnesses because we are not able to move quickly enough to accommodate these new requests. Subpoenaing our service members, when the Department is working diligently to accommodate your requests and when no service member has refused to appear voluntarily, is unfair to our uniformed men and women."
The letter underscores the challenges facing the two-year-old House Select Committee on Benghazi, which has been dogged by criticism from its right and left. Panel chairman Trey Gowdy (R-S.C.) has promised to release the final investigative report "before summer," but critics are skeptical it will happen.
In recent months, Gowdy has touted "immense" progress in the investigation, citing the receipt of new documents from the Obama administration and more than 90 witness interviews in total. He has not provided further detail.
Man up and soldier on you sniveling puke !