Hilary Clinton, the former secretary of state, is testifying on Capitol Hill today before the House Select Committee.
Hilary Clinton, the former secretary of state, is testifying on Capitol Hill today before the House Select Committee tasked with investigating the deadly attack in Benghazi, a hearing that is expect to last up to eight hours.
The Republican-led committee's intentions have recently come under public scrutiny after comments by House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy and a a New York Times investigation revealed that Republican members were trying to extend the hearing through the presidential campaign.
Most Americans believe the the committee is more concerned with bringing down the front-runner for the Democratic nomination than finding facts, according to a Monmouth University poll released Tuesday.
It is the third time Clinton has testified before Congress, but it is the first time appearing before this committee. This is the eighth committee to investigate the attack on an U.S. embassy in Libya on Sept. 11, 2012, where four Americans were killed.
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Rep. Trey Gowdy of South Carolina started the hearing with a series of questions that he said remained unanswered: Why was the U.S. in Libya? Why were security requests denied? Why was the military not ready to respond quickly on the 11th anniversary of 9/11? And why did the Obama administration change its story about the nature of the attacks in the weeks afterward?
Those questions were addressed by Clinton early in the hearing and she noted various attacks on American consulates occurred during the in the 1980s and 1990s.
As secretary of state, Clinton told lawmakers she did not personally approve or decline requests for additional security.
An emotional Clinton, wearing a dark-blue suit, gave her opening statement talking about her work as secretary of state and expressed the importance of diplomats across the world, even in dangerous places.
"I was the one who asked Chris (Stevens) to Libya as our envoy," she said. "I was the one who recommended him to be our ambassador to the president. After the attacks, I stood next to President Obama as Marines carried his casket and those of the other three Americans off the plane at Andrews Air Force Base. I took responsibility."
Besides questions concerning security at the embassy, the committee focused on Clinton's emails, which were hosted on a private server while serving as secretary of state.
According to the Monmouth University poll, 52 percent of the public believe Clinton's use of a personal email account was a matter of convenience while 33 percent believe her behavior suggests she has something to hide.
However, 35 percent believe Clinton has been honest in her explanation on how she handled her emails. Forty-eight percent believe she has not been honest.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Craig McCarthy may be reached at CMcCarthy@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @createcraig. Find NJ.com on Facebook.
