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The ad attempts
to pivot away from discussions about her response to the attack
of the American consulate in Benghazi, Libya, just weeks before
she is slated to testify before the committee on Oct. 22.
The ad, which will air across the United States on cable
television, begins by showing California Republican Rep. Kevin
McCarthy, who is considered by many likely to be the next
Speaker of the House, arguing that the House Benghazi Committee
should be considered an accomplishment because it succeeded in
lowering Clinton’s poll numbers in her race for the White House.
McCarthy's remarks quickly drew criticism from Democrats who
said he had revealed the investigation was purely political.
The ad points out that the committee cost taxpayers $4.5
million.
“The Republicans have spent millions attacking Hillary because
she’s fighting for everything they oppose, from affordable
healthcare to equal pay,” a voice in the ad says. “She’ll never
stop fighting for you, and the Republicans know it.”
Clinton - who was secretary of state at the time of the attacks
- is trying to make the case that the coming Republican inquiry
is not about the actual attacks but about trying to smear her
politically as she seeks to represent her party in the November
2016 elections.
“Look at the situation they chose to exploit, to go after me for
political reasons: the death of four Americans in Benghazi,”
Clinton said in a town hall meeting in New Hampshire on Monday.
She called the panel a “political, partisan committee for the
sole purpose of going after me, not trying to make our diplomats
who serve in dangerous areas safer.”
The House Benghazi Committee was established in 2014, after
eight congressional investigations were conducted. The House
committee has largely focused on Clinton’s response to the
attacks, which killed four Americans including Ambassador Chris
Stevens. The committee expanded its inquiry and is now
simultaneously investigating Clinton’s use of a private email
server during her time as secretary of state.
For more on the 2016 presidential race, see the Reuters blog,
“Tales from the Trail”
(http://blogs.reuters.com/talesfromthetrail/).
(Reporting by Ginger Gibson; Editing by Ken Wills)
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