You’ve probably been told by outraged Republicans that President Obama and/or Hillary Clinton issued a “stand down” order in Benghazi. That allegation belongs to Republican Representative Darrell Issa of California, who seems unable to discern fact from GOP wish-fiction these days.
This allegation earned four Pinocchios for Issa.
Fact checker Glenn Kessler at the Washington Post has reported on domestic and foreign policy for more than three decades. He is not impressed with Darrell Issa’s latest Benghazi smears against Hillary Clinton and President Obama.
During a fundraising dinner in New Hampshire, Tony Schinella, an editor at the Patch, reported that Rep. Darrell Issa said “he suspected that either Clinton or Obama told Panetta to stand down and not act or Panetta was told to do something and just didn’t do his job.”
Issa is referencing yet another false flag planted in his Benghazi witch hunts, which recent congressional reports have debunked – including a report by Republicans. Yes, his own party can’t manufacture enough smoke and mirrors to give Darrell Issa’s whoppers cover.
But as you know, Issa’s active imagination is not at all hindered by facts. Kessler detailed the facts that destroy Issa’s allegation:
A report by Republicans on the Armed Services Committee recently declared: “There was no ‘stand down’ order issued to U.S. military personnel in Tripoli who sought to join the fight in Benghazi.” A bipartisan Senate Intelligence Committee report released in January said: “The Committee has reviewed the allegations that U.S. personnel, including in the IC [Intelligence Community] or DOD, prevented the mounting of any military relief effort during the attacks, but the Committee has not found any of these allegations to be substantiated.”
There was NO STAND DOWN ORDER and there is NO EVIDENCE of his allegations. Issa knew this when he made them just days ago at a fund raising dinner. This dinner is part of Issa’s tour in which he urged Republicans to unite against President Obama’s “imperial presidency”.
We wouldn’t be surprised to hear that Issa also sees dead people and they tell him what to investigate next.
And so, the harsh conclusion to yet another of Issa’s fantasies, per WaPo:
It is correct that Issa poses a series of questions, but his repeated use of the phrase “stand down” and his personalizing of the alleged actions (“Secretary Clinton;” “Leon”) leave a distinct impression that either Clinton or Obama delivered some sort of instruction to Panetta to not act as forcefully as possible. He even incorrectly asserts that not a single order was given to use any DOD asset. One could argue the response was slow, bungled or poorly handled. But Issa is crossing a line when he suggests there was no response — or a deliberate effort to hinder it.
Four Pinocchios
Darrell Issa held on the truth about Benghazi for a year in order to attack President Obama and former Secretary of State and potential 2016 candidate Hillary Clinton over a tragic matter that might have been avoided if only House Republicans had not denied the Obama administration the funding for embassy security that they requested.
Issa just can’t help himself. He’s bound and determined to abuse his power in order to pin the consequences of obstructionist Republicans onto Obama and Clinton. Republicans deny funding and then spend years attacking Democrats over the lack of funding? That’s the Benghazi “inquiries” in a nutshell.
This is designed to hurt Clinton in 2016 and Democrats in 2014 as even though Obama isn’t running again, Republicans will accuse Democrats of being buddies with the Imperial President who ordered assets to Stand Down in Benghazi. It won’t matter that none of it is true. What will matter is that it will distract their base from asking questions about why Republicans are against the minimum wage.
Another “whopper” of a lie, another day. But the media seems less dazzled now than they were in the summer, when Issa’s brooding malevolence lent much sought after drama to a slow news period.
Sarah has been credentialed to cover President Barack Obama, then VP Joe Biden, 2016 Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton, and exclusively interviewed Speaker Nancy Pelosi multiple times and exclusively covered her first home appearance after the first impeachment of then President Donald Trump.
Sarah is two-time Telly award winning video producer and a member of the Society of Professional Journalists.
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