Andy McCarthy and yours truly both devote our weekend columns to the Benghazi debacle. I mention the relevant exchange in the vice-presidential debate, when Joe Biden was asked why the administration had blamed the murderous assault on an obscure YouTube video. He replied:
Because that was exactly what we were told by the intelligence community.
The State Department has now released a background briefing from Tuesday at which an AP reporter put the same question, more or less:
OPERATOR: The next question is from the line of Brad Klapper with AP. Please, go ahead.
QUESTION: Hi, yes. You described several incidents you had with groups of men, armed men. What in all of these events that you’ve described led officials to believe for the first several days that this was prompted by protests against the video?
SENIOR STATE DEPARTMENT OFFICIAL TWO: That is a question that you would have to ask others. That was not our conclusion. I’m not saying that we had a conclusion, but we outlined what happened. The Ambassador walked guests out around 8:30 or so, there was no one on the street at approximately 9:40, then there was the noise and then we saw on the cameras the – a large number of armed men assaulting the compound.
There was no “intelligence” suggesting a movie protest in Benghazi. All the on-site reports made plain what had happened — and by the following morning. The second highest official in the Government of the United States looked the citizenry in the eye on Thursday and said something he knew to be completely false. If Biden’s statement was agreed with Obama and not just ol’ Joe wingin’ it, they’re gonna need a bus with Truckosaurus-high wheels to get the State Department, the intelligence guys, and everyone else they’re planning on throwing under there.
Surely, even among Obama’s media sycophants, there must be someone who recognizes that all the cushy court eunuch posts are filled and, rather than being the umpteenth extra in the crowd scene, there’s a reputation, a Pulitzer and maybe a movie deal to be made here.