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 In testimony that stretched deep into the night, the former
secretary of state rejected Republican accusations that she ignored
requests for security upgrades in Libya and misinformed the public
about the cause of the attack by suspected Islamist militants that
killed the U.S. ambassador and three other Americans in Benghazi.
Clinton, 67, stayed out of the political fray during several heated
arguments between Republicans and her Democratic allies and remained
composed under aggressive questioning from Republican lawmakers.
The long hearing uncovered no new revelations in a deadly incident
that has been the subject of a half-dozen other congressional
investigations and an independent inquiry.
Clinton said it was "personally painful" to be accused of ignoring
security upgrades that could have saved the life of ambassador J.
Christopher Stevens and three other Americans at the diplomatic
compound.
"I've thought more about what happened than all of you put
together," she told the Republican-led special panel. "I've lost
more sleep than all of you put together. I've been racking my brain
about what could have been done, should have been done."
 The appearance before the Benghazi panel was a critical hurdle for
Clinton, who has been on a hot streak since turning in a strong
performance at last week's first Democratic debate and after
Wednesday's news that her strongest potential challenger, Vice
President Joe Biden, will not seek the Democratic nomination for the
November 2016 election.
Even some Republicans said Republican lawmakers had swung at Clinton
and missed with their aggressive questioning.
"They forget Secretary Clinton has been dealing with hostile
committees longer than most of them have been in politics at any
level," Texas-based Republican strategist Joe Brettell said.
CLINTON: NOT RESPONSIBLE FOR SECURITY
Representative Trey Gowdy, chairman of the special panel,
acknowledged to reporters afterward that Clinton's testimony was not
significantly different than her previous testimony on the incident.
Clinton defended her leadership in Libya as America's top diplomat
and denied longstanding Republican allegations that she personally
turned down requests to beef up security in Benghazi.
"I was responsible for quite a lot," Clinton said. "I was not
responsible for specific requests and security provisions."
Clinton told the panel the attacks must not discourage U.S. action
globally and said the incident already had been thoroughly
investigated.
"We need leadership at home to match our leadership abroad,
leadership that puts national security ahead of politics and
ideology," Clinton said in a veiled reference to the political
controversy that has dogged the panel.
 Opinion polls show Americans deeply split along partisan lines over
the probe. A Reuters/Ipsos poll this week found 35 percent of
respondents viewed the Benghazi hearings as mostly or completely
valid. The percentage among Republicans was 67 percent, independents
39.6 percent and Democrats 16.5 percent.
The panel has spent 17 months looking into the attacks at the U.S.
mission compound. Clinton's long-awaited testimony was the most
high-profile appearance yet before a committee that has already
interviewed more than 50 witnesses.
At one point, Clinton impassively stacked papers while Gowdy and
senior Democrat Elijah Cummings argued loudly over Cummings' request
that the closed-door testimony of Clinton friend Sidney Blumenthal
before the committee in June be publicly released.
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Clinton listened intently, head in hand, as Gowdy heatedly
questioned her about the constant emails she received from
Blumenthal. Republicans noted that Stevens, the ambassador, did not
even have Clinton's email address.
"You didn't need my email address to get my attention," Clinton
said.
CUMMINGS WANTS END TO COMMITTEE
Cummings said congressional Republicans set up the panel for a
partisan witch hunt.
"They set them loose, Madame Secretary, because you're running for
president," he told Clinton, calling for an end to the
"taxpayer-funded fishing expedition." He said the committee had
spent $14.7 million of taxpayer money over 17 months.
"Your testimony has gone on longer than all our other hearings
combined," Democratic Representative Adam Schiff told Clinton.
Republican Representative Jim Jordan said Clinton had misleadingly
implied after the attack that it was a reaction to an anti-Muslim
video. Clinton, who denies suggesting the video was the cause, said
the accusation had been proven false by other investigations.
Clinton's appearance before the panel follows months of controversy
about her use of a private home email server for her State
Department work, a disclosure that emerged in part because of the
Benghazi committee's demand last year to see her official records.
Gowdy, a former federal prosecutor, has been on the defensive over a
series of comments from his fellow Republicans implying the
committee's real aim was to deflate Clinton's poll numbers.
"Madame Secretary, I understand some people - frankly in both
parties - have suggested this investigation is about you. Let me
assure you it is not," Gowdy told Clinton. "Not a single member of
this committee signed up for an investigation into you or your email
system."
Clinton said the emails being made public and examined by the
committee did not encompass all of the work she did as secretary of
state.
"I don’t want you to have a mistaken impression about what I did and
how I did it," she said. "Most of my work was not done on emails
with my closest aides, with officials in the State Department,
officials in the rest of the government."
She cited communications through secure phone calls, in-person
conversations and top-secret documents.
A 2012 report by a government accountability review board sharply
faulted State Department officials for providing "grossly"
insufficient security in Benghazi, despite upgrade requests from
Stevens and others in Libya.
(Additional reporting by Ginger Gibson, Alana Wise and Megan
Cassella; Editing by Howard Goller and Leslie Adler)
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