The ranking Democrat on the House Select Committee on Benghazi today blasted Republican Committee Chair Trey Gowdy. R-S.C., and U.S. Rep. Chuck Fleischmann, R-Tenn., for politicizing the probe of the attack on Libya during an appearance over the weekend in Chattanooga.
U.S. Rep. Elijah E. Cummings, D-Maryland, said the GOP congressmen used an appearance before the National Federation of Pachyderm Clubs in Chattanooga "as a political rallying cry-and fundraising tool." In a statement issued today, Cummings denounced the comments made by Gowdy and and Fleischmann as "offensive, reprehensible, and contrary to the promises we made to the loved ones of those who were killed during the 2012 attacks.
"Chairman Gowdy should halt these activities immediately," Cummings said.
Gowdy told the Times Free Press Saturday that he has not tried use the Benghazi investigation in a partisan attack on former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, the leading Democratic candidate for president in 2016. But Gowdy chided Clinton for maintaining her own personal email account for State Department business and then destroying some of the emails she said were only personal while she was a member of the Obama cabinet.
In introducing Gowdy, Fleischmann praised the South Carolina Republican as a strong Democratic critic.
"Whether you are Hillary Clinton or any other lefty out there, you better beware because Trey Gowdy is out there and he is going to get you," Fleischmann told the National Federation of Pachyderm Clubs in Chattanooga.
In turn, Gowdy praised Fleischmann, who serves on the Appropriations Committee, for helping the Benghazi probe by threatening to withhold State Department funding if the agency didn't comply with the committee's subpoenas."
Cummings accused the Republicans of trying to make money from the Benghazi tragedy in 2012. Registration to the Pachyderm national event last week in Chattanooga was $150 to $200.
In May 2014, Chairman Gowdy claimed during an interview on national television: "I have never sought to raise a single penny on the backs of four murdered Americans."
But Cummings cited a Stop Hillary PAC advertisement in April that used Chairman Gowdy's name, image and position to request political donations. Stop Hillary PAC describes itself as "created for one reason only-to ensure Hillary Clinton never becomes President of the United States."
Also in April, the RNC issued an attack ad #StopHillary also referencing Benghazi.