Benghazi victim’s mother offers emotional criticism of Hillary Clinton at RNC

CLEVELAND, July 18 (UPI) — The mother of a Foreign Service worker killed in the terrorist attack on an American diplomatic outpost in Benghazi, Libya, delivered an emotional speech on the opening night of the Republican National Convention, saying she blames Democrat Hillary Clinton personally for her son’s death.

Patricia Smith’s son Sean Smith was one of five killed in the Sept. 11, 2012, attack on American diplomats that also killed U.S. Libyan Ambassador J. Christopher Stevens during Clinton’s tenure as secretary of state.

“For all of this loss, for all of this grief, for all of the citizens the tragedy in Benghazi has brought on America, I blame Hillary Clinton,” Smith said. “I blame Hillary Clinton for the death of my son, personally.”

Cameras showed several delegates in the audience moved to tears during Smith’s speech. She also said Clinton lied to her about the reason for her son’s death in the days following the attack.

There was considerable criticism from Republicans of the Obama administration’s response to the Benghazi attack, which came in the heat of the president’s re-election campaign. Initially, officials blamed the attack on a spontaneous protest over the release of a video by an American pastor mocking the Muslim prophet Mohammad.

Later, the administration reversed itself, saying there was evidence the attack was a coordinated plot on Americans serving in Libya by terrorist elements in that country. Investigations have also shown Stevens had requested additional security for himself and other State Department employees in the weeks before his death, but those requests went unanswered.

Smith offered harsh words for Clinton, saying she lied to her at her son’s funeral.

“She lied to me and then called me a liar. When I saw Hillary Clinton at Sean’s coffin ceremony, she looked me squarely in the eye and told me a video was responsible. Since then I have repeatedly asked Hillary Clinton to explain to me the real reason why my son is dead. I’m still waiting. Hillary Clinton is a woman, a mother and a grandmother of two. I am a woman, a mother and a grandmother of two. How could she do this to me? How could she do this to any American family?”

Ultimately, Smith asked: “If Hillary Clinton can’t give us the truth why should we give her the presidency?”

The theme of the opening night of the Republican convention was “Make America Safe Again” and several speakers were scheduled to address the Benghazi attack and Clinton’s role in it.

Last month, House Republicans’ Select Committee on Benghazi issued its final report on the attack, finding a “tragic failure of leadership.”