In Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein’s celebrated book on the Watergate scandal, All the President’s Men, the figure of Hugh Sloan, Jr. stands out. Sloan was a staffer for President Richard Nixon and an official on his re-election campaign. He was not involved in the Watergate burglary, but resigned when he found out about it, and while nursing his shattered ideals he eventually became a source for Woodward and Bernstein’s investigations.
Sloan emerges as one of the few decent and admirable people in the Nixon administration. There are surely such people who worked for President Barack Obama today–in the White House, the State Department, or outside the administration–who know the truth about Benghazi.
It is a truth that is already clear to the public in a general sense, awaiting only confirmation of the details of the security failure and the deceitful cover-up.
With this week’s Judicial Watch release of the Benghazi emails confirming the role of White House adviser Ben Rhodes in preparing the false “talking points,” and Thursday’s testimony by Brigadier General Robert Lovell (Ret.) about the fact that the attack was never a “demonstration gone awry” and that the State Department failed to call for a military response, the pressure on honest people in the administration continues to build.
Perhaps ours is an era when politics has trumped principle to such an extent that the idea of resigning for the sake of honor and decency is almost unthinkable. But the truth will not be hidden forever, and new Hugh Sloans will emerge, especially if the House finally convenes a select committee.
We will eventually hear from idealists who understand the damage that the Benghazi cover-up continues to cause our country. It is a matter of time.