Buzzfeed has it from two White House sources that chief White House counsel Kathryn Ruemmler played a key role in the president’s (non)responses to both the Benghazi and the IRS scandals:
BuzzFeed has learned that key members of President Obama’s national security team, including deputy national security advisor Ben Rhodes, pushed to release a comprehensive timeline of events documenting the attack that would also synthesize the views of the various government agencies into one report. The CIA also wanted the White House to put out such a timeline, according to sources with knowledge of the situation.
Those plans were quashed, however, when the White House Counsel’s office, which is led by Kathryn Ruemmler, advised the officials to not release any information to the public out of fear it could be used against them in any subsequent investigations and other legal complications.
The White House told BuzzFeed any suggestion that Ruemmler shot down the release of the Benghazi timeline was “off base” — but an official said the White House would not comment “on leaks out of purported internal deliberations.”
BuzzFeed’s sources said the legal advice proved frustrating for a number of officials in the president’s orbit, who felt they would have better served to put to rest controversy that has lasted nine months.
“It was aggravating,” one administration official said. “It comes back to Kathryn Ruemmler, Kathyrn Ruemmler, Kathryn Ruemmler. I hate to say it, as it sounds like piling on, but it’s on her doorstep too.”
Ruemmler has also come under fire this week for not making the president and others aware of the IRS investigation.
A few things about this:
1) It is generally bad news for administrations when people learn the names of the president’s lawyers.
2) If you read the whole thing, you’ll notice that BuzzFeed’s anonymous White House source sure makes unanonymous White House staffer Ben Rhodes look great. #OckhamsRazor
3) If Ben Stein isn’t at this very moment recording a video of him saying “Ruemmler. . . ? Ruemmler . . . ? Ruemmler . . . ?” then the universe is a cold and indifferent place.