http://abcnews.go.com/blogs/politics/2014/05/hillary-clinton-driving-democrats-benghazi-committee-strategy/Will Hillary Clinton Benefit From Democrats On Benghazi Committee?
By Jeff Zeleny
May 21, 2014 1:47pm
Is it better for former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton if Democrats boycott or participate in the new House investigation of the Benghazi attacks?
That question is central to Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi’s decision whether to appoint Democratic members to the House select committee.
Several Democrats have urged Pelosi not to participate in the committee, saying it is unwise to lend an air of legitimacy to an investigation they have derided as a political witch hunt. But others, particularly those close to Clinton, believe that having Democrats on the panel is the only way to ensure both sides of the story will be told.
On Wednesday Pelosi announced the appointments of five Democratic members to explore the 2012 attack on the U.S. consulate in Benghazi, Libya, which killed four Americans:
Elijah E. Cummings (D-MD), Ranking Member, Committee on Oversight & Government Reform
Adam Smith (D-WA), Ranking Member, Armed Services Committee
Adam B. Schiff (D-CA), Committee on Appropriations (Subcommittee on State & Foreign Operations), Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence
Linda T. Sanchez (D-CA), Committee on Ways and Means (Subcommittee on Oversight)
Tammy Duckworth (D-IL), Armed Services Committee, Committee on Oversight & Government Reform
The Benghazi hearings are likely to become televised spectacles, so the thinking in Clinton world is that it’s better to have Democrats join in the questioning in hopes of balancing the proceedings, ABC News has learned.
House Speaker John Boehner has appointed seven Republicans to participate in the investigation, which will be led by Rep. Trey Gowdy, R-S.C.