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 Republican Representative Trey Gowdy, who chairs the U.S. House
Select Committee on Benghazi, said in the letter to Clinton's lawyer
that he wanted to schedule her appearance for no later than May 1
and that the interview with the committee would be transcribed.
Clinton, the presumed front-runner for the Democratic presidential
nomination in 2016, has faced criticism for her use of personal
email to conduct State Department business during her tenure rather
than a government-issued account. She has said she used the personal
account for convenience.
A spokesman for Clinton indicated that Clinton was not willing to
agree to an interview that was closed to the public, although he did
not explicitly rule out the possibility.
 "Secretary Clinton already told the committee months ago that she
was ready to appear at a public hearing," Nick Merrill, the
spokesman, replied in an email when asked if Clinton would agree to
Gowdy's request. "It is by their choice that hasn't happened. To be
clear, she remains ready to appear at a hearing open to the American
public."
Representative Elijah Cummings, the ranking Democrat on the panel,
disputed Gowdy's assertion in the letter that the committee had no
alternative to a transcribed interview and said Clinton has already
agreed to publicly testify.
"Rather than drag out this political charade into 2016 and
selectively leak portions of a closed-door interview, the Committee
should schedule the public hearing, make her records public, and
re-focus its efforts on the attacks in Benghazi," Cummings said in a
statement.
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Gowdy, whose committee is investigating the 2012 attacks on a U.S.
diplomatic compound in Benghazi, Libya, during Clinton's tenure,
last week said she had failed to respond to the panel's subpoena for
documents in the case.
The State Department has said it has turned over relevant emails to
the committee.
The attacks in Benghazi killed four Americans, including U.S.
Ambassador Christopher Stevens.
(Reporting by Susan Heavey in Washington and Jonathan Allen in New
York; Editing by Emily Stephenson and Jonathan Oatis)
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