Last updated on September 25th, 2023 at 08:42 pm
Rep. Trey Gowdy (R-SC) made the media rounds on Wednesday to discuss his new position as chairman of the House’s special select committee investigating Benghazi. The two-term Congressman, who has made something of a name for himself during the seemingly endless Benghazi hearings over the past year and a half, was tapped by Speaker of the House John Boehner (R-OH) to lead this new committee. Boehner decided to set up this committee in response to the ‘smoking gun’ emails that were released by the White House last week. Republicans feel that those emails show that the White House purposely tried to mislead the public as to the cause of the violent attacks that killed four Americans in Benghazi on September 11th, 2012.
Gowdy appeared on Morning Joe Wednesday morning to talk about the role of the committee and what House Republicans are hoping to accomplish with yet another investigation into Benghazi. When asked whether Republicans should stay clear of raising money off of this issue, Gowdy said the following:
“Yes, and I will cite myself as an example. I have never sought to raise a single penny on the backs of four murdered Americans. Even in a culture of hyper-partisanship, certain things that ought to be above politics, like the murder of our four fellow Americans, and whether or not you can trust what any administration – Republican or Democrat – tells you in the aftermath of a tragedy.”
Of course, it would have been nice if the National Republican Congressional Committee would have told Gowdy that they’d already posted a blog to their website hyping up the new committee and asking for donations. The NRCC even created a separate URL called BenghaziWatchdogs.com, where supporters can add their name to a list and contribute money to help ‘fight against liberals.’
Gowdy sat down with CNN’s Jake Tapper later in the day to tape an interview for Tapper’s The Lead. Tapper pressed him on this issue. Gowdy once again stated that he will not raise money on Benghazi and he urged other Republicans to follow suit.
Here’s the thing. The NRCC is NOT going to listen to Gowdy regarding this. Republican leaders see this as the way to energize the base and get the hardcore conservatives to rally around something prior to the midterms. This is the Republican platform heading into November, and quite possibly, all the way into 2016. They are going to use this as a way to raise money over the next few months. Perhaps Gowdy feels like he is doing something legitimate and worthwhile by investigating the White House’s response and conversations regarding Benghazi. However, most Republicans see this as a way to change the narrative in Washington and try to hang some kind of scandal on the President and potential 2016 Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton.
While Gowdy may go around telling everyone he isn’t going to use this investigation as a way to fill his campaign coffers, the NRCC has already come out and defended itself and will not stop raising money. The committee made the following statement in response to its fundraising efforts.
The Obama administration has not been honest with the American people with regards to Benghazi, and if Nancy Pelosi becomes Speaker the American people will never know the truth. Our goal is to hold Democrats in Congress accountable who vote against creating the select committee on Benghazi and who continue to try to sweep this controversy under the rug.”
So, per Gowdy’s own words, it seems that his fellow Republicans feel it is perfectly fine to raise money “on the backs of four dead Americans.” That is good to know.
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