Panetta: I Told White House ‘from the Very Beginning’ that Benghazi Was a Terrorist Attack

Former defense secretary Leon Panetta continues to pile on criticism of his former Obama-administration colleagues, telling NBC’s Andrea Mitchell on Tuesday that he immediately “sensed” that Benghazi was a terrorist attack, and told administration officials as much.

“I didn’t have any specific information,” he said. “But the fact was, when you bring grenade launchers to a demonstration, there’s something else going on. And I just, from the very beginning, sensed that this was a terrorist attack on our compound. And I remember saying to [CIA director Petraeus], ‘Look, based on the weapons that I see, based on the nature of the attack, I think this was a terrorist attack.’”

Obama-administration officials insisted for weeks afterward that the September 11, 2012 attack was a demonstration that spiraled out of control — not, as it was later confirmed, a planned terrorist strike carried out by al-Qaeda-linked elements in Libya.