In an apparent attempt to divert the media’s attention away from the newly released email in which White House adviser Ben Rhodes pushed the “narrative” that a YouTube video caused the attack in Benghazi to then-U.N. ambassador Susan Rice before her round of Sunday talk show appearances on September 16th, 2012, White House press secretary Jay Carney repeatedly insisted to ABC’s chief White House correspondent Jonathan Karl that Rice also relied on the CIA talking points.
On April 2, former CIA deputy Director Michael Morell testified before the House Intelligence Committee that he “reacted very strongly” to a line in the talking points that the State Department sent a warning to it’s embassy in Cairo over “social media reports calling for a demonstration” because of an anti-Islamic you tube video. Morrell testified that the you tube video was “not relevant to what happened in Benghazi’ on the “night of the 11th and 12th”
Morell also testified he sent the the completed talking point to several top officials including White House Advisor Ben Rhodes on Saturday September 15, the day before Susan Rices appeared on the Sunday shows.
When Morell learned Rice had ignored his talking points and attributed the Benghazi terror attack to the YouTube video on those Sunday shows, he said, “When she talked about the video my reaction was that was not something the analyst attributed this attack to.”
Follow Pam on Twitter @pamkeyNEN
COMMENTS
Please let us know if you're having issues with commenting.