Two officials from the Obama administration are on the hot seat today on Capitol Hill: John Brennan, who is the president’a chief counterterrorism advisor and who has been nominated to lead the CIA, and Leon Panetta, the retiring defense secretary. For Brennan, the issue is whether he should be confirmed to be the next CIA director; while Panetta will be on Capitol Hill to answer questions about the September 11 terror attack in Benghazi that led to the death of four Americans, including Ambassador Chris Stevens.
Panetta will sit before the Senate Armed Services Committee, and field questions from its members. Last week, the committee grilled the man nominated to be Panetta’s replacement, Chuck Hagel. Republicans had demanded that Panetta come to Capitol Hill before Hagel could testify (in the end, they settled for Panetta coming the week after Hagel testified).
The Panetta hearing is titled, “Oversight: Attack on U.S. Facilities in Benghazi, Libya,” and includes this tag-line: “To receive testimony on the Department of Defense’s response to the attack on U.S. facilities in Benghazi, Libya, and the findings of its internal review following the attack.” While the bulk of the hearing is scheduled to be open to the public, the committee states that ” There is a possibility of a CLOSED session…”
CONTINUED at the Weekly Standard.
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