Rep. Darrell Issa (R-CA), Chairman of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, may be ready to take on Secretary of State Hillary Clinton for her numerous failures leading up to the terrorist attacks on the U.S. consulate in Libya on the eleventh anniversary of 9/11 that killed U.S. Ambassador Chris Stevens.
According to The Hill, Issa, for now, “is treading more carefully” with Clinton than he did with Attorney General Eric Holder. Issa has not called on Clinton to testify, but his staff has “praised Clinton for vowing to cooperate” with the investigation of the terrorist attacks in Libya that killed U.S. Ambassador Chris Stevens.
“After dealing with the Department of Justice’s stonewalling in Operation Fast and Furious, the State Department and Secretary Clinton have been a breath of fresh air,” Issa spokesperson Frederick Hill told the publication. “They pledged their cooperation when we made our first two witness requests.”
The Hill notes “there are signs that a prolonged investigation by the pugnacious Issa and his panel, which enjoys subpoena power over the administration, will bring the two Washington heavyweights into conflict.”
Clinton will have to answer for a lot of failures if and when she is called to testify before Issa’s panel. She will have to explain why the State Department ignored the threats on U.S. interests in Libya and Ambassador Stevens’ request for more security. She will have to explain she the Obama administration tried to blame the attacks on an obscure, anti-Muhammad internet video even when U.S. intelligence officials knew within hours that al-Qaeda was most likely behind the attacks in Libya.
Depending on what Issa’s Committee discovers after issuing subpoenas, the impending clash between Issa and Clinton may make Issa’s battles with Holder over the “Fast and Furious” scandal seem tame in comparison.