E-Mails Link White House to False Benghazi Blame-YouTube Narrative; Networks Ignore
Newly-surfaced e-mails link the White House directly to false talking
points that were disseminated days after the Benghazi attacks in
September of 2012, but the broadcast networks ignored the story on
Tuesday evening.
As Judicial Watch reported, e-mails from the White House to then-U.N.
Ambassador Susan Rice instructed her to "underscore that these protests
are rooted in an Internet video, and not a broader failure of policy."
Rice was roundly criticized for appearing on five Sunday talk shows and
blaming the attacks on a protest of an anti-Islam internet video,
information that turned out to be false.
Nonetheless, the broadcast networks ignored this important new development in the post-Benghazi saga. Instead, ABC devoted a segment to the Amanda Knox trial in Italy and each of the networks gave a news brief to the announcement of the cast members of the new Star Wars movie.
Fox News's Special Report led with the story. As anchor Shannon Bream reported: "There is new evidence tonight that Obama administration aides were primarily concerned with protecting the President's public image seven weeks before the election, and advancing the false explanation blaming an internet video for the Benghazi terrorist attacks."
Below is a partial transcript of FNC's April 29 report at the top of the 6 PM EDT Special Report with Bret Baier:
SHANNON BREAM: There is new evidence tonight that Obama administration
aides were primarily concerned with protecting the President's public
image seven weeks before the election, and advancing the false
explanation blaming an internet video for the Benghazi terrorist
attacks. Chief intelligence correspondent Catherine Herridge says the
new revelations go to the heart of the administration.
CATHERINE HERRIDGE: An e-mail sent three days after the Benghazi attack
leads directly to the White House and suggests a senior adviser to
President Obama played a essential role preparing former U.N. Ambassador
Susan Rice for the Sunday talk shows where she blamed an anti-Muslim
internet video for the deaths of four Americans. Among more than 100
pages of documents obtained by Judicial Watch as a part of a federal
lawsuit is an e-mail from Ben Rhodes, an assistant to the President and
deputy national security adviser for strategic communications. With the
subject line "PREP CALL with Susan," Rhodes writes to a dozen members of
the administration's inner circle, including key players on the White
House communications team such as spokesman Jay Carney, that one of the
goals is, quote, "to underscore that these protests are rooted in an
internet video and not a broader failure of policy."
— Matt Hadro is a News Analyst at the Media Research Center. Follow Matt Hadro on Twitter.
