Clash on Benghazi panel

WASHINGTON – The chairman of a special House committee investigating the deadly 2012 attacks in Benghazi, Libya, promised Tuesday to “ratchet up” an inquiry he said is being hobbled by resistance from the Obama administration.

Rep. Trey Gowdy, R-S.C., said the committee has recently received 15,000 pages of new documents, but needs greater cooperation from the State Department and other agencies to do its job.

“Letters haven’t worked. Southern politeness hasn’t worked. We’re going to ratchet it up,” Gowdy said at the end of a two-hour hearing that at times turned into a partisan grudge match.

Rep. Elijah Cummings of Maryland, the panel’s senior Democrat, accused Gowdy of excluding Democrats from the investigation.

The remarks came as the committee held its third public hearing since its creation in May.

Associated Press