While writers like Ben White are encouraging Hillary to kickstart her 2016 bid immediately, the House Select Committee on Benghazi is still looking for answers.
Today, Gowdy sent a letter to Hillary Clinton’s counsel confirming the extension of subpoena deadline to March 27, and formally requesting the former Secretary of State surrender her email servers to a mutually agreed upon third party for forensic examination.
Gowdy explained Hillary’s unusual and likely unprecedented email arrangement, an arrangement that made her the sole arbiter of relevant documentation. Making note that Mrs. Clinton deleted emails, Gowdy wrote, “the deletion of emails is not normal practice once any investigation, let alone litigation, commences. The fact that she apparently deleted some emails after Congress initially requested documents raises serious concerns.”
The House of Representatives issued the following statement this afternoon:
Washington, DC– Select Committee on Benghazi Chairman Trey Gowdy today sent a letter requesting former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton turn over the server she used for official State Department business to the State Department inspector general or a neutral third party for independent analysis of what records should be in the public domain.“Though Secretary Clinton alone is responsible for causing this issue, she alone does not get to determine its outcome,” said Gowdy, R-S.C. “That is why in the interest of transparency for the American people, I am formally requesting she turn the server over to the State Department’s inspector general or a mutually agreeable third party.“An independent analysis of the private server Secretary Clinton used for the official conduct of U.S. government business is the best way to remove politics and personal consideration from the equation. Having a neutral, third-party arbiter such as the State Department IG do a forensic analysis and document review is an eminently fair and reasonable means to determine what should be made public. “As I have said many times, we have no interest in Secretary Clinton’s personal emails, but the American people have a clear right to the public records from her time as secretary of State.”The letter transmitted today to the former secretary’s personal attorney lays out the Select Committee’s exhaustive efforts to acquire her official communications regarding Libya as part of the committee’s inquiry into the 2012 Benghazi terrorist attacks.The letter also notes the former secretary’s unprecedented email arrangement involving the use of private email and a server to maintain exclusive control over her official record while in office.Gowdy has previously said he would support the server being turned over to a retired federal judge, an archivist or other inspector general to make public record determinations, and he reiterated his willingness to work to find a neutral arbiter that is agreeable to all concerned. He also stressed the importance of the committee getting a responsive and complete set of Libya-related documents from State Department to help expedite the committee’s inquiry.
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