PLIEGO DE CONDICIONES
ÍNDICE 4.1 INTRODUCCIÓN
4.2 NORMAS GENERALES DE EJECUCIÓN
Republicans have long sought to discredit the ARB’s independent investigation of the Benghazi attacks, led by Ambassador Thomas Pickering and former Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Admiral Michael Mullen, both of whom had distinguished careers under multiple Republican and Democratic administrations. However, the evidence obtained by the Select
Committee demonstrates that the ARB members conducted their investigation with complete independence, thoroughness, and patriotism. Their final report was piercing and penetrating, assigning accountability where it was due, and making strong recommendations for reform.
More than two years of re-investigating the Benghazi attacks have only found additional evidence to support the ARB’s core findings in its final report, which the ARB completed in less than three months after conducting 100 interviews.
The ARB’s findings are further bolstered by a review of the ARB’s internal files, which Republicans had long sought access to, but the State Department resisted based on concerns about the negative impact on future ARBs. These internal files, which have now been obtained by the Select Committee, confirm the thoroughness and independence of the ARB.
During a television appearance in April 2013, Chairman Gowdy stated: “[A]fter seven months, it becomes patently obvious that the sole function of the Accountability Review Board was to insulate Hillary Clinton.”175 During the Select Committee’s first public hearing, Select
Committee Member Jim Jordan stated: “[O]f course this thing [the Accountability Review Board] wasn’t independent. ... [I]t was anything but independent.”176
Pursuant to Section 301 of the Omnibus Diplomatic Security and Antiterrorism Act of 1986, the State Department’s ARB process is used to conduct thorough and independent reviews of significant security-related incidents at U.S. diplomatic facilities overseas. The ARB’s
objective is to determine accountability and improve the security practices of U.S. missions and personnel serving abroad.
On September 19, 2012, Secretary Clinton approved the establishment of an ARB to investigate the September 11, 2012, attacks on U.S. facilities and personnel in Benghazi, Libya. The Board was officially convened on October 1, 2012.
In accordance with the governing ARB statute, Secretary Clinton selected four members to serve on the ARB, and Director of National Intelligence James Clapper selected one member from the Intelligence Community. Former Ambassador Thomas Pickering served as Chairman, and the former Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Admiral Michael Mullen served as Vice Chairman. Catherine Bertini, Richard Shinnick, and Hugh Turner also served as ARB Members.
In less than three months, the Benghazi ARB interviewed more than 100 witnesses, reviewed thousands of pages of documents, and viewed hours of video. In comparison, it took the Select Committee more than two years to interview less than 110 witnesses.
On December 18, 2012, the Benghazi ARB released a report on its findings. By statute, the report included findings on whether the attacks were security-related, whether security systems and procedures were sufficiently adequate and properly implemented, and whether any U.S. government employee breached his or her duty. The ARB also issued 29 recommendations to improve security systems and procedures at the Department of State, all of which were
accepted by Secretary Clinton.
On June 4, 2013, the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform conducted a deposition with Ambassador Pickering. During that deposition, Ambassador Pickering
explained to Members and staff that it was a “debt of honor” to have served on the ARB, noting his personal connection to Ambassador Stevens:
[Y]ou know when you lose friends, when you lose colleagues and fellow employees, that’s the most urgent and demanding of all situations, and if you can make a contribution and make it right, it’s important.
Chris Stevens worked for me as my special assistant for 2 years when I was Under Secretary of State. This was not any kind of vendetta, but I felt that Chris gave me two wonderful years of his life in supporting me in very difficult circumstances, that I owed him, his family, and the families of the other people who died the best possible report we could put together. And I have to tell you, the five of us, I think, time and time again mentioned how important this was, how significant it was to get it right, and how important it was to—what our work product would be, what our end result would be, would be deeply scrutinized, and it should be, there’s no reason it shouldn’t be, but that we had to work as hard as we can to make it stand up, that we had, with all respect to everybody in this room, no sense of political attachment on this particular issue. We wanted to do it in the best way we could. We got lots of advice from all areas. We attempted to synthesize that and put it into those 29 recommendations in the most serious way that we could.
So it was on obligation, maybe a debt of honor on our side. And I considered it an honor to be asked by the Secretary of State just to be on the Board, but in a more distinct one, to be asked to be chairman. And I felt that it was my responsibility, working with the others, and we worked in a very collegial way, but we certainly had differences and discussions in our views. We had a lot of give and take, which was good, and I felt it was very useful. And we brought in experts, and they were extremely helpful to us in looking at the way in which the report was put together and prepared.177
Testifying before the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, Admiral Mullen stated that it was a privilege for him to serve on the ARB:
[I]t was a privilege, it remains a privilege. … I knew it was critical work. And it was, from my perspective something I did for my country. … And certainly I understood obviously instantly the gravity of the situation just because of the loss of life even though as it initially occurred I really didn’t have much of an idea how it happened. … I didn’t do it for any other reason but to do it for the country.178
In September 2013, the State Department Office of Inspector General released its Special Review of the Accountability Review Board Process, which examined all 12 ARBs convened between 1998 and 2012, including the ARB for Benghazi, to evaluate “the process by which Accountability Review Boards (ARB/Board) are established, staffed, supported, and conducted
as well as the measures to track implementation of ARB recommendations.” In conducting its review, the Office of Inspector General found:
The Accountability Review Board process operates as intended—
independently and without bias—to identify vulnerabilities in the Department of State’s security programs.179
One witness explained to the Select Committee that Republicans’ personal and political attacks on the integrity of the ARB Board members have undermined the State Department’s ability to recruit qualified and experienced former Ambassadors to serve on future ARBs.
On March 4, 2016, the Select Committee interviewed the Director of the Office of Management Policy, Rightsizing, and Innovation, a career employee who has assisted with the process for setting up ARBs for approximately 15 years. She explained that before the partisan attacks on the Benghazi ARB, numerous former ambassadors used to reach out to her and volunteer to be placed on the list of potential ARB members, but “[t]hat’s not the case anymore.”180 She explained:
They have seen what was done to a career ambassador—to Ambassador Pickering and others, and they are not at all interested in being treated in the same way. I had two occasions to have conversations with retired ambassadors who say: Take my name off your list. I won’t go through that. If they did it to Tom Pickering, they will do it to me, and I’m not going to do it.181
At the time that she was interviewed by the Select Committee, she was having trouble finding anyone to volunteer for any potential upcoming ARBs. She had this exchange:
Q: Is it your impression that subsequent congressional investigations of the Benghazi attacks have somehow affected the ARB process going forward?
A: It is my contention that it is. And this will play out in the next couple of weeks. … I have been trying to get a list together should the PCC [Permanent Coordinating Committee] recommend an ARB, and I’m having no luck.182
She concluded:
[I]f we don’t have that close examination of what happened and what we can do to make it not happen again, we have lost all of that—the ability to ensure the safety of our people overseas.183
ENDNOTES
1 Department of State, Benghazi Accountability Review Board Report (Dec. 2012) (online at
www.state.gov/documents/organization/202446.pdf).
2 Id. 3 Id. 4 Id.
5 Email from Special Envoy Chris Stevens to Ambassador Gene Cretz, et al., Thoughts on Future of Mission Benghazi (Sept. 6, 2011) (C05389447-MOU).
6 Action Memo from Jeffrey Feltman to Undersecretary Patrick Kennedy, Future of Operations in Benghazi, Libya (Dec. 27, 2011) (SCB0047413-MOU).
7 Id.
8 Department of State, Benghazi Accountability Review Board Report (Dec. 2012) (online at
www.state.gov/documents/organization/202446.pdf).
9 Information Memorandum, IM for Future of Operations in Benghazi, Libya (Dec. 20, 2011)
(C05457274).
10 Id.
11 State Department, Cable 12 TRIPOLI 130, Request for DS TDY and FTE Support (Mar. 28, 2012)
(C05890650-MOU).
12 Email from Benghazi Principal Officer to Regional Security Officer Tripoli, et al., Tripoli—Request for DS TDY and FTE Support (Apr. 21, 2012) (attaching State Department Cable 12 STATE 38939 (Apr. 19, 2012)).
13 Id.
14 House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, Interview of Diplomatic Security Desk Officer
(Aug. 8, 2013).
15 Id. 16 Id.
17 House Committee on Oversight and Government Report, Hearing on The Security Failures of Benghazi
(Oct. 10, 2012) (online at www.gop.gov/resources/library/documents/benghazi/ogr-the-security-failures-of- benghazi.pdf).
18 Select Committee on Benghazi, Interview of Deputy Assistant Secretary for International Programs (Jan.
7, 2016).
19 Id.
20 Select Committee on Benghazi, Interview of Diplomatic Security Agent A (Feb. 24, 2015).
21 Select Committee on Benghazi, Interview of the Deputy Assistant Secretary for International Programs
(Jan. 7, 2016).
22 Id.
23 Select Committee on Benghazi, Interview of Deputy Chief of Mission (Aug. 12, 2015) (emphasis added). 24 Select Committee on Benghazi, Interview of the Deputy Assistant Secretary for International Programs,
Diplomatic Security (Jan. 7, 2016).
25 Id. 26 Id.
27 Select Committee on Benghazi, Interview of Under Secretary for Management Patrick Kennedy (Feb. 3,
2016).
28 House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, Deposition of Ambassador Thomas Pickering
(June 4, 2013).
29 House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, Interview of Admiral Michael Mullen (June
19, 2013).
30 Department of State, Benghazi Accountability Review Board Report (Dec. 2012) (online at
www.state.gov/documents/organization/202446.pdf).
31 Id. 32 Id. 33 Id. 34 Id.
35 Select Committee on Benghazi, Interview of Diplomatic Security Agent A (Feb. 24, 2015).
36 Id.
37 Select Committee on Benghazi, Interview of Diplomatic Security Agent B (Apr. 2, 2015). 38 Id.
39 Id.
40 House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, Interview of Diplomatic Security Desk Officer
(Aug. 8, 2013).
41 Weekly Update of Topics in Benghazi (Jan. 29, 2012) (C05390904).
42 Select Committee on Benghazi, Interview of Diplomatic Security Agent C (Apr. 9, 2015). 43 Id.
44 Id. 45 Id.
46 Select Committee on Benghazi, Interview of Diplomatic Security Agent D (Apr. 13, 2015). 47 Id.
48 Id. 49 Id. 50 Id. 51 Id.
52 Select Committee on Benghazi, Interview of Diplomatic Security Agent E (Aug. 21, 2015). 53 Select Committee on Benghazi, Interview of Diplomatic Security Agent F (Mar. 24, 2015). 54 Id.
55 Id. (according to the ARB, Omar Abdurrahman group made an unsubstantiated claim of responsibility
for the June 6, 2012, attack).
56 House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, Interview of Diplomatic Security Desk Officer
(Aug. 8, 2013).
57 Email from Regional Security Officer in Benghazi to Diplomatic Security Desk Officer et al., Staffing
(June 14, 2012) (C05388987) (emphasis in original).
58 Id.
59 House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, Interview of Diplomatic Security Desk Officer
(Aug. 8, 2013).
60 Select Committee on Benghazi, Interview of the Deputy Assistant Secretary for International Programs,
Diplomatic Security (Jan. 7, 2016).
61 Select Committee on Benghazi, Interview of Diplomatic Security Agent G (May 19, 2015). 62 Id.
63 State Department, Cable 12 TRIPOLI 690, Tripoli—Request for Extension of TDY Security Personnel
(July 9, 2012) (SCB0049439-MOU).
64 Select Committee on Benghazi, Interview of the Deputy Assistant Secretary for International Programs
(Jan. 7, 2016).
65 Email from Diplomatic Security Desk Officer to [Redacted], FW: DoD Support to US Embassy Tripoli
(July 12, 2012) (C05391287).
66 House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, Hearing on the Security Failures of Benghazi,
112th Cong. (Oct. 10, 2012).
67 Select Committee on Benghazi, Interview of Diplomatic Security Agent H (Apr. 15, 2015). 68 Id.
69 Id. 70 Id.
71 State Department, Cable 12 TRIPOLI 952, The Guns of August: Security in Eastern Libya (Aug. 8,
2012) (C05262779).
72 Email from Principal Officer to Ambassador Christopher Stevens and Deputy Chief of Mission Gregory
Hicks, February 17/QRF Contract (Aug. 12, 2012) (C05395770).
73 Select Committee on Benghazi, Interview of Principal Officer (Mar. 26, 2015).
74 State Department, Cable 12 TRIPOLI 55, U.S. Mission Benghazi Emergency Action Committee—August 16, 2012 (C05261905) (the EAC is an interagency group convened in U.S. embassies and other facilities to address
emergencies or security matters).
75 Id.
77 State Department, Cable 12 Tripoli 55, US Mission Benghazi Emergency Action Committee—August 16, 2012 (C05261905).
78 Email from Agent H to Regional Security Officer, RE: Reports to System (Aug. 23, 2012) (C05391883)
(attaching Security Requests for U.S. Mission Benghazi (Aug. 22, 2012) (C05578292)).
79 Select Committee on Benghazi, Interview of Diplomatic Security Agent H (Apr. 15, 2015).
80 Email from Diplomatic Security Agent H to Diplomatic Security Agent I et al., FW: RSO Turnover Docs
(Aug. 29, 2012) (C05474918).
81 Id.
82 U.S. Mission Benghazi Memorandum, Regional Security Officer Turnover (Aug. 28, 2012) (C05391853-
MOU).
83 Id.; Email from Diplomatic Security Agent H to Diplomatic Security Agent I et al., FW: RSO Turnover Docs (Aug. 29, 2012) (C05474918); Email from Diplomatic Security Agent H to Regional Security Officer, Reports to System (Aug. 23, 2013) (C05391883).
84 House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, Interview of Regional Security Officer (Oct. 10,
2013).
85 House Committee on Foreign Affairs, Terrorist Attack in Benghazi: The Secretary of State’s View (Jan.
23, 2013) (online at http://docs.house.gov/meetings/FA/FA00/20130123/100170/HHRG-113-FA00-20130123- SD003.pdf).
86 House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, Interview of Diplomatic Security Agent (Oct.
9, 2012).
87 Interim Progress Report for the Members of the House Republican Conference on the Events
Surrounding the September 11, 2012 Terrorist Attacks in Benghazi, Libya (Apr. 23, 2013) (online at https://oversight.house.gov/wp-content/uploads/2013/04/Libya-Progress-Report-Final-1.pdf).
88 Id.
89 Fox & Friends, Fox News (Apr. 24, 2013) (online at https://youtu.be/MsJpsW59jCs).
90 State of the Union, CNN (May 19, 2013) (online at www.youtube.com/watch?v=enwwbnPmVvs). 91 Issa’s Absurd Claim that Clinton’s ‘Signature’ Means She Personally Approved It, Washington Post
(Apr. 26, 2013) (online at www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/fact-checker/post/issas-absurd-claim-that-clintons- signature-means-she-personally-approved-it/2013/04/25/58c2f5b4-adf8-11e2-a986-eec837b1888b_blog.html).
92 Id. 93 Id.
94 Rand Paul Says Hillary Clinton Was ‘Asked Repeatedly to Provide Security in Benghazi … Including Direct Cables,’ PolitiFact (May 22, 2013) (online at www.politifact.com/truth-o-
meter/statements/2013/may/22/rand-paul/rand-paul-says-hillary-clinton-was-asked-repeatedl/).
95 State of the Union, CNN (Apr. 11, 2015) (online at www.cnn.com/2015/04/12/politics/rand-paul-hillary-
clinton-foreign-policy/).
96 Rand Paul Attacks Hillary Clinton’s Response to Benghazi Attack, PolitiFact (Apr. 12, 2015) (online at
www.politifact.com/truth-o-meter/statements/2015/apr/12/rand-paul/rand-paul-attacks-hillary-clintons-response- bengha/).
97 Select Committee on Benghazi, Hearing 4: Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton (Oct. 22, 2015). 98 600 “Requests” from Benghazi for Better Security: What This Statistic Really Means, Washington Post
(Jan. 26, 2016) (online at www.washingtonpost.com/news/fact-checker/wp/2016/01/26/600-requests-from-benghazi- for-better-security-what-this-statistic-really-means/).
99 Id.
100 Fox News Sunday, Fox News (Dec. 13, 2015) (online at
www.foxnews.com/transcript/2015/12/13/donald-trump-responds-to-his-critics-kerry-climate-deal-lacks-penalties- because/).
101 600 “Requests” from Benghazi for Better Security: What This Statistic Really Means, Washington Post
(Jan. 26, 2016) (online at www.washingtonpost.com/news/fact-checker/wp/2016/01/26/600-requests-from-benghazi- for-better-security-what-this-statistic-really-means/).
102 Letter from Chairman Trey Gowdy, Select Committee on Benghazi, to David E. Kendall, Counsel for
Secretary Clinton (Mar. 31, 2015).
103 Select Committee on Benghazi, Interim Progress Update (May 8, 2015).
105 The 12 Hillary Clinton Emails You Must Read, Politico (July 1, 2015) (online at
www.politico.com/story/2015/07/hillary-clinton-emails-must-read-119628).
106 National Archives and Records Administration, Statement from the National Archives: Update on NARA’s Activities and Communications Related to Email Management at the Department of State (Dec. 7, 2015)
(online at www.archives.gov/press/press-releases/2016/nr16-29.html).
107 Select Committee on Benghazi, Gowdy Statement on Report by State Department Inspector General
(May 25, 2016) (online at http://benghazi.house.gov/news/press-releases/gowdy-statement-on-report-by-state- department-inspector-general).
108 Select Committee on Benghazi, Hearing 4: Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton (Oct. 22, 2015). 109 Department of State Office of Inspector General, Office of the Secretary: Evaluation of Email Records Management and Cybersecurity Requirements (May 2016) (online at https://oig.state.gov/system/files/esp-16-
03.pdf).
110 Id.
111 What People Are Saying About Clinton in San Diego, San Diego Union-Tribune (June 2, 2016)
(online at www.sandiegouniontribune.com/news/2016/jun/02/what-people-are-saying-about-clinton-in-san- diego/).
112 Presidential Candidate Carly Fiorina: Hillary Clinton ‘Has Blood on Her Hands’, Business Insider
(July 14, 2015) (online at www.businessinsider.com/carly-fiorina-hillary-has-blood-on-her-hands-2015-7).
113 While Some Republicans Seize Chance to Attack Hillary Clinton, Others Refrain, New York Times (July
26, 2015) (online at www.nytimes.com/2015/07/27/us/politics/while-some-republicans-seize-chance-to-attack- hillary-clinton-others-refrain.html).
114 State of the Union, CNN (Apr. 12, 2015) (online at http://cnnpressroom.blogs.cnn.com/2015/04/12/sen-
rand-paul-on-hillary-clinton-%E2%80%8Ei-think-benghazi-was-a-300-a-m-phone-call-that-she-never-picked-up/).
115 Lindsey Graham Twitter Account @LindseyGrahamSC (Sept. 16, 2015) (online at
https://twitter.com/lindseygrahamsc/status/644290364455587840)
116 Trump on Clinton’s “3 a.m. Call” FactCheck.org (Apr. 28, 2016) (online at
www.factcheck.org/2016/04/trump-on-clintons-3-a-m-call/).
117 America’s Newsroom, Fox News (May 20, 2016) (online at http://insider.foxnews.com/2016/05/20/ben-
carson-after-benghazi-emails-hillary-says-trump-lacks-judgment).
118 Select Committee on Benghazi, Hearing 4: Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton (Oct. 22, 2015). 119 Id.
120 Email from Operations Center to State Department Officials, The Secretary Has Requested to Speak with Libyan President Magarif (Sept. 11, 2012) (SCB0084318-MOU).
121 Email from Operations Center to State Department Officials, The Secretary Is Speaking with Libyan President Magarif (Sept. 11, 2012) (SCB0084317-MOU).
122 Email from Operations Center to State Department Officials, The Secretary Has Requested to Speak with DCM Hicks, Embassy Tripoli (Sept. 11, 2012) (SCB0084316-MOU).
123 Email from Operations Center to State Department Officials, The Secretary Has Requested at Conference Call (Sept. 11, 2012) (SCB0084315-MOU).
124 Email from Operations Center to State Department Officials, The Secretary is Speaking with Multiple
(Sept. 11, 2012) (SCB0084314-MOU).
125 Email from Operations Center to State Department Officials, The Secretary is Speaking with Multiple
(Sept. 11, 2012) (SCB0084313-MOU).
126 Email from Office of the Secretary Office Manager to Huma Abedin et al., RE: We Are All Still in the Office… (Sept. 11, 2012) (SCB00085747-MOU).
127 Id.
128 Select Committee on Benghazi, Interview of Jacob Sullivan (Sept. 5, 2015). 129 Id.
130 Id. 131 Id.
132 House Select Committee on Benghazi, Interview of Cheryl Mills (Sept. 3, 2015) (online at
http://democrats-
benghazi.house.gov/sites/democrats.benghazi.house.gov/files/documents/2015_09_03_Transcript_of_Cheryl_Mills. pdf).
135 Id. 136 Id.
137 Department of State, Benghazi Accountability Review Board Report (Dec. 2012) (online at
www.state.gov/documents/organization/202446.pdf).
138 Meet the Press, NBC News (Oct. 4, 2015) (online at www.nbcnews.com/meet-the-press/meet-press-