Bob Menendez: “Reserving the right to object, this request is, in my view, without merit. It is an effort to follow in the footsteps of…”

“Reserving the right to object, this request is, in my view, without merit. It is an effort to follow in the footsteps of the unfortunate, politically motivated creation of a just-founded special committee by the House of Representatives just in time for midterm elections. The supposed reason once again we hear colleagues saying we need to have another review, another hearing, another investigation, is the White House email. This is the smoking gun. When you read the email, in fact, it is nothing more than a day-to- day work product and part of the job of the President's staff when they are talking about, not Benghazi--not Benghazi--but what is happening across the entire region, and clearly across many parts of the Arab world. What happened as a result of that video was a visceral response, and it is in that context that this email is being discussed, but our friends--who will never be satisfied because it doesn't solve their political concerns--at the end of the day seek to use this as their latest claim for their ``investigation.'' Their previous one-trick pony, repealing the Affordable Care Act, has finally been put out to pasture. The Republicans desperately need another political trick, and apparently when there is nothing else of substance to fire up their base, their plan is to yell ``Benghazi'' as often and as loudly as possible. This request is, from my perspective, purely a political witch hunt without merit. There have been 11 congressional hearings on the attack.…”