On Wednesday, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton testified on Capitol Hill about the attack in Benghazi, Libya on September 11, 2012. During the testimony, Clinton became angry with Senator Ron Johnson, a Republican from Wisconsin. He questioned her department’s accounts of the attack. The testimony was in front of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.
“With all due respect, the fact is we had four dead Americans,” Clinton responded. “Was it because of a protest or was it because of guys out for a walk last night who decided to kill some Americans? What difference at this point does it make? It is our job to figure out what happened and do everything we can to prevent it from ever happening again, Senator.”
“Honestly, I will do my best to answer your questions about this, but the fact is people were trying their best in real time to get to the best information,” she said.
During the hearing, Clinton discussed the hours following the attack, saying that she met with the families of the four Americans who were killed. Her voice was cracking at this time. Not long after hearing, Johnson spoke to Milwaukee radio host Charlie Sykes. Johnson said, “It was theatrics. Again, she didn’t want to answer questions so she makes a big show of it.”
“You only have five minutes, so you can’t let the witness or somebody testifying before you filibuster you,” the senator said. “You actually have to — I try and politely interrupt when I hear enough of an answer and I realize she’s just filibustering. … I’m not trying to be obnoxious here, I’m just trying to get the answers I believe the American people deserve to hear. It’s been four months.”
Clinton’s testimony also included mounting threats from extremists in northern Africa.
“The Arab revolutions have scrambled power dynamics and shattered security forces across the region,” she said. “And instability in Mali has created an expanding safe haven for terrorists who look to extend their influence and plot further attacks of the kind we saw just last week in Algeria.”
Clinton touted her accomplishments during the hearing, saying that in four years she has visited over 112 countries and traveled over one million miles.
“My faith in our country and our future is stronger than ever. Every time that blue and white airplane carrying the words ‘United States of America’ touches down in some far-off capital, I feel again the honor it is to represent the world’s indispensable nation. And I am confident that, with your help, we will continue to keep the United States safe, strong, and exceptional.”