Breaking: Republicans Still Pissed Off About Benghazi

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I’ve been trying to dredge up something interesting from the Benghazi hearing today, but it’s tough sledding. Kansas Rep. Mike Pompeo went the Ross Perot route, putting up a chart showing (he said) that there had been tons of requests for more security in Libya and none of them were approved. Why? WHY? Clinton patiently explained that security professionals made decisions about security requests, but this cut no ice with Pompeo. He was apparently outraged that we hadn’t shipped in a couple of brigades of Marines the moment someone reported that things in Libya were getting dicey.

Ohio Rep. Jim Jordan then went on a strange rant about the video. You know: THE VIDEO. In very loud tones, Jordan tried to accuse Clinton of lying to the American public because the State Department released a statement on the night of the attacks that said this:

Some have sought to justify this vicious behavior as a response to inflammatory material posted on the Internet.

That’s just a flat-out statement that the video caused the attack! Why would she say that? She knew that terrorists were responsible! Of course, the whole paragraph says this:

Some have sought to justify this vicious behavior as a response to inflammatory material posted on the Internet. The United States deplores any intentional effort to denigrate the religious beliefs of others. Our commitment to religious tolerance goes back to the very beginning of our nation. But let me be clear: There is never any justification for violent acts of this kind.

Jeebus. Haven’t we been through all this before? The wording of the State Department statement is obvious: not that we blame the video, but that others have “sought” to blame the video. This is so obvious that it’s genuinely unclear what Jordan thought he was accomplishing with this weird line of questioning.

Right now, chairman Trey Gowdy is engaging in a long Sidney Blumenthal fest. It goes without saying that this has nothing to do with the Benghazi attacks or our response to it. It will not help us understand security at the Benghazi mission or why we didn’t know an attack was imminent. It’s just an attempt to undermine Clinton’s reputation by linking her with Blumenthal. I think everyone watching this show understands that.

But there’s more! If Republicans are so fascinated with Blumenthal, Democrats want the transcript of his testimony released. Gowdy, of course, refuses. But he does say this: “I’ll tell you what, if you think you’ve heard about Sidney Blumenthal so far, wait until the next round.”

I can’t wait. And that’s a wrap on the first round of questioning.

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WHO DOESN’T LOVE A POSITIVE STORY—OR TWO?

“Great journalism really does make a difference in this world: it can even save kids.”

That’s what a civil rights lawyer wrote to Julia Lurie, the day after her major investigation into a psychiatric hospital chain that uses foster children as “cash cows” published, letting her know he was using her findings that same day in a hearing to keep a child out of one of the facilities we investigated.

That’s awesome. As is the fact that Julia, who spent a full year reporting this challenging story, promptly heard from a Senate committee that will use her work in their own investigation of Universal Health Services. There’s no doubt her revelations will continue to have a big impact in the months and years to come.

Like another story about Mother Jones’ real-world impact.

This one, a multiyear investigation, published in 2021, exposed conditions in sugar work camps in the Dominican Republic owned by Central Romana—the conglomerate behind brands like C&H and Domino, whose product ends up in our Hershey bars and other sweets. A year ago, the Biden administration banned sugar imports from Central Romana. And just recently, we learned of a previously undisclosed investigation from the Department of Homeland Security, looking into working conditions at Central Romana. How big of a deal is this?

“This could be the first time a corporation would be held criminally liable for forced labor in their own supply chains,” according to a retired special agent we talked to.

Wow.

And it is only because Mother Jones is funded primarily by donations from readers that we can mount ambitious, yearlong—or more—investigations like these two stories that are making waves.

About that: It’s unfathomably hard in the news business right now, and we came up about $28,000 short during our recent fall fundraising campaign. We simply have to make that up soon to avoid falling further behind than can be made up for, or needing to somehow trim $1 million from our budget, like happened last year.

If you can, please support the reporting you get from Mother Jones—that exists to make a difference, not a profit—with a donation of any amount today. We need more donations than normal to come in from this specific blurb to help close our funding gap before it gets any bigger.

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