they are eric nordstrom, a security officer base indeed tripoli two months before the attack, greg hicks the deputy in the embassy in libya and mark thompson coordinator for the state department counter terrorism bureau. they will speak publicly together for the first time in front of the house over site committee next week. it could provide a world of insight into that night and four americans including our ambassador to libya died. molly is in washington tonight. molly, what do we expect to hear from the women on wednesday? >> heather, eric nordstrom in the months leading up to the bengazi attacks may elaborate on what he told congress. he thought the bengazi consulate needed more security and the state department told him no . greg or hickings, second highest ranking diplomat in libya may say on wednesday based on the conversations with senator lindsay graham. >> you are going to be surprised to hear what he said about the intersection between him and washington. he's the number two guy and chris stevenson's deputy and on the phone with chris right before he died. he will give you a c

diplomat in libya at the time of those attacks, gregory hicks, libya's regional security coordinator eric nordstromand state department visual mark thompson all contradicted the white house's versn of what took place that day and the white house explanation of its response in the days and weeks that followed did congressional investigators learning key details that have not been publicly obama administration. we learn with a like a response americans under attack by terrorists and the or communications between the state department and the pentagon. this confirmed forces were available in tripoli but werr told to stand down before they could embark on a rescue attempt. >> we determined that we needed to send second team from tripoli to secure the airport for the withdrawal of our personnel from benghazi afr the mortar attack did >> or any of u.s. military personnel not permitted to travel on a relief mission to benghazi? >> they were not authorized to travel. >> what happed with those personnel? >> they remained in tripoli with us via lou: we also learned hicks was never contacted by the investor of

eric nordstrom is a former regional security officer in libya.the foremost in the most knowledgeable person about security requests that were made and denied to the u.s. diplomatic mission in libya and also in benghazi, ultimately in benghazi. mr. cummings, we will have, from time to time, our disagreement. but i know that for all the members of this committee, we understand that these disagreements must be kept on the side of the desk. the brave witnesses deserve this committee was called to testify. the brave whistleblowers are what make this committee and their work so important. we are the ones that lead underneath this president. the public has a right to their accounts. we must respect whistleblowers and work on a bipartisan basis to protect them. with that, i recognize the ranking member for his opening statement. mr. chairman, i want to thank you for calling this hearing. and i want to be clear. i have said it over and over again. no member of congress, be they republican or democrat, who failed to be whistleblowers. i think it is sad whe

and i thought that the little clip that we just played of eric nordstrom where he became very emotionals he spoke about your son and the over three americans who died, was especially revealing as to just how deep these folks felt for each other in that situation. >> i know they felt bad. i could feel it. i could just feel how they felt. that's how i felt, too. but the government doesn't care! they don't care about us people at all. all they have to do is tell me what happened and i would have gone away. but they didn't even bother. i was an unimportant person. now i'm an unimportant person that doesn't have a child for mother's day. and i'm -- i meal it -- feel it so deeply. they cannot understand how i feel. >> governor huckabee: pat, let me say you are not an unimportant person. that's why we wanted to talk to you. not only are you important, your son's life was important. he served honorable whether military. [ applause ] >> governor huckabee: he served honorabliably as a honorably as a part of foreign service. one of the reasons that i really hope that we continue to beg ando push a

and then eric nordstrom.e top security officer in libya in the months leading to those attacks. now, the deputy chief hicks spoke today about the efforts to get any help to the americans at benghazi. and he said a defense specialist told him fighter jets were not an option. >> he said it would take two to three hours for them to get on site but that there were also no tankers available for them to refuel. and i said thank you very much. and we went on with our work. >> shepard: hicks later described what he called the saddest phone call of his life when he learned that ambassador stevens was dead and he talked about the frustrations with getting a team to benghazi after the attack. >> people in benghazi had been fighting all night. they were tired. they were exhausted. wanted to make sure the airport was secure for their withdrawal. as colonel gibson and his three personnel were getting in the cars, he stopped and he called them off and told me that he had not been authorized to go. >> shepard: he says the co

for the benefit of the new committee members, my name is eric nordstrom and serve as superviz ri special agent with the u.s. department states bureau of diplomatic security. since september 2012 i've been enrolled in long-term language training in preparation for my next assignment. as chairman issa noted i've served in federal law enforcement since january 1996 first as a customs inspector before joining the u.s. department of state. i've served in domestic and overseas postings including washington, d.c., honduras, ethiopia, india and most recently the regional security officer at the u.s. embassy in tripoli. all of those assignments have been assignments in which i faced the threat of criminal or terrorist attacks. i held the last position from september 21, 201 until july 26, 2012. as the regional security officer or rso at the u.s. embassy in tripoli, i served to u.s. ambassadors eugene krets and chris stevens. i want to thank the opportunity again to have the ability to appear and provide support to the tragic events of september 11, 2012. and also thank the committee for your cont

i mean, eric nordstrom mentioned this week, as certainly did mr. hicks, the fact that facility requirements for the consulate in benghazi, the wafer of those requirements, by law, apparently, have to come from the secretary of state. was she involved in that decision make, who was not-- or was she not? in addition to that, this have been serious questions raised about individuals within her chain of command with respect to the talking point and what happened afterwards. so i think those are fair questions when we have, obviously, four americans murdered in addition to the fact that these were-- to have an ambassador murdered. this is about getting to the bottom-- to the line of the truth not about what happens in 2016. >> schieffer: well, what about that, senator durbin? i mean, the fact is what we now know from e-mails and other information is that there were 12 revisions of what the government's version of what happened was that night. and the first version said that there were elements of al qaeda involved in this. they said it was an attack. th

that is the government's on call team to rapidly respond to terrorist incidents and eric nordstrom who was the top security officer leading up to the attack. he talked before the house oversight committee in october of last year. here is a sample what they have revealed on the night of the attack, at times their testimony was emotional. >> i would also like to thank the committee for your continued efforts in in investigating all the details and all the decisions related to the attack on our diplomatic facility. specifically, the committee's to find out what happened prior and during the attack matter, it matters to me personally, and it matters to my colleagues at the state. it matters to the american public for whom we serve. most importantly -- excuse me -- it matters to the friends and family of ambassador stevens, 5 sean smith, glen doherty and tyrone woods that were murdered. >> i threw missed calls from the ambassador's phone and from fwron a phone number i didn't recognize. i punched the phone number i didn't recognize and i got ambassador on the other end. he said, greg, we're

and they had star witnesses and they had this fellow big strapping diplomatic security officer eric nordstrom and he was their star witness and they said you asked for more security and get it yes sure well i we think that that more security would have prevented this what do you think now nobody knows but i will quote every dog strum quote having an extra foot of wall or an extra half dozen guards who are agents would not have enabled us to respond to this kind of attack the ferocity and intensity of the attack was nothing we had seen in libya or that i had seen in my time in the diplomatic security service and. quote now what does it mean that means all our diplomats in the state of the art with work weaponry rocket propelled grenades shoulder fired missiles which twenty thousand was by our. attack on libyan regime change regime change call it what it is to do regime change raymond what do you think about that what was the ambassador doing there no one likes to talk about that what was his relationship to the cia well i would like to talk about that either there's. well the chief of mission

. >> eric nordstrom was referring to former secretary of state hillary clinton's earlier testimony.he had questions what difference it makes whether the benghazi incident was a protest or something else. >>> there was a chaotic scene on a crowded honolulu street when a small helicopter came crashing down. first responders there say it was a miracle no one was hurt. the pilot was on a flight when the chopper lost power, and she was forced to make a crash landing. a fire station happens to be on that same street, so firefighters who heard the commotion were able to rush over right away. >>> the carnival cruise ship "triumph" is back out to sea three months after being disabled by an engine fire. the ship left mobile, alabama. the crew is sailing to the bahamas where the ship will undergo even more repairs. it's expected to be ready to take passengers by early june. >>> also at sea, a dramatic rescue off the coast of north carolina. a coast guard helicopter crew came to the aid of a 72-year-old british man after he activated an emergency beacon. a swimmer jumped in, pulled him from his

. >> you know this name because he testified, eric nordstrom.tic security officer, the regional security officer in libya. the top security officer in the country in the months leading up to the attacks. you may recall that he appea appeared before the house oversight and government reform committee. he said he and ambassado ambassadorsteins tried, in vain, for many weeks and months leading up to the attack to get more security forces on the ground. because they knew that the security climate was deteriorating. >> what do they have in common? not one is a political appoint tee. washington is controlled by the political employees but these are not. career state department employees. people who are not there because george w. bush appointed them, as the lawyers pointed out. they're credible for that reason. >> clayton: also, it's interesting to see what happened and what they were trying to get done at the whole timeline unfolded. we know from gregory hicks from senator lindsey graham who says you will hear interesting information from him because

eric nordstrom top security officer in libya in the months leading up to the attack. he spoke and told congress that he and others asked the state department for more security for the bengazi consalate and turned down. he has more information to testimony congress. >> two other men who describe themselves bengazi whistle-blowers, gregory hickings second highest ranking diplomat and mark thompson. a state department counter terrorism official. darryl issa said his committee may hear from additional witnesses. our committee has been contacted by numerous individuals who have direct knowledge of the bengazi terrorist attack that are not yet prepared to testify. they are concerned with the retaliation at the hands of the employers. the obama administration pippered about whether the height height or state department tried to silence the bengazi survivors. the white house insisted anyone who want to testify before congress is it welcome to. >> bengazi happened a long time ago. we are unaware of agencies blocking . employees who will like to give information to bengazi. >>

in libya, on the day of those attacks, gregory hicks, libya's regional security coordinator, eric nordstromepartment official mark thompson denying the white house version of what took place on that day. and the white house's explanation of their response over the days and weeks that followed. congressional investigators learned key details that haven't been made public by the obama administration. and we begin with the lack of response to americans under ta

deputy coordinator in state department, mark thompson as well as security officer based in tripoli eric nordstromave heard from him before. he has testified that congress, he thought the consulate needed more security and the state department told him no. >> heather: thank you. the upcoming testimony seting the stage for what could be a bruising battle on capitol hill. later in the hour, our political panel will discuss the stakes involved for both parties. >> gregg: new developments now in the boston bombing investigation. the f.b.i. and other agents searching the home of deceased suspect tamerlan tsarnaev towed. some of them wearing hazmat suits as they entered the home in cambridge, massachusetts. david lee military has more -- miller has more. >> the f.b.i. was joined by agents from the bureau of alcohol and firearms and explosives at the home of tamerlan tsarnaev. this is the home in cambridge where he lived with his wife and young daughter. it's the home where authorities suspect the bombs were actually seamed. local police sealed off the street leading up to their home around 8:00 this mor

eric nordstrom, and gregory hicks game the top u.s.iplomat in libya after the death of our embassador, chris stevens. today hicks recounted the minutes and hours after the attack broke out in benghazi, libya, including what he called the saddest phone call of his life from the prime minister of libya. >> he told me that embassador stevens had passed away. the -- excuse me. our team responded with amazing discipline and courage in tripoli in organizing a withdrawal. i have vivid memories of that. >> the attack on september 11 that year killed sean smith, two former navy seals, tyrone woods and glen doherty. gregory hicks told the house committee until the aftermath of benghazi i loved every day of my job. mike, witnesses confirmed it looked like a terror attack. >> a lot of talk about that. gregory hicks was asked if there was ever talk from a top libyan official about anti-muslim video perhaps the cause of the benghazi attack. he said no, sir. then this exchange. >> when embassador stevens talked to you perhaps minutes before he died,

the three men gregory hicks marc thompson and eric nordstrom the deputy chief of the mission when the attacks unfolded and through out the night evidences in communication with ambassador chris stevens. the last hours of his life he says watching the administration handles the days after the attack. >> ambassador susan rice blamed the attacks on the video, in fact she did it five different times. what was your reaction to that? >> i was stunned. my jaw dropped and i was embarrassed. >> did she talk to you before she went on the five sunday talk shows. >> you were the highest ranking officials. >> did she have a conversation with you before she went on national television? >> no, sir. >> he asked the state department for more resources and support from the past. nordstrom was a top security officer in the months leading up to the attacks. he reacted to the moment when then secretary hillary clinton testified about the assault. at one point she said it didn't make a difference how the americans died that night. >> it matters to me personally. it matters to my colleagues at the departmen

at the hearing eric nordstrom who had worked in libya explained what the hearing meant to him. >> it matters to me personally and it matters to my colleagues. >> john: key testimony came from gregory hicks. hicks said he requested an f-16 fighter to be sensed to buzz the bengahzi compound in hopes to scare attackers off but was turned down. he was asked that special forces teams could to be sent to bengahzi only to be turned down again. how did the special forces feel about that? >> they were furious. i can only say well, i will quote lt. col. gibson who said this is the first time in my career that a diplomat has more balls than someone in the military. >> john: however in the pentagon spokesman george little said i quote: >> john: but for many conservatives the big question of the day was if any of the testimony could be tie the bengahzi attack to hillary clinton. sense last fall fox news and it's fellow travelers have cleaned the white house knew that the attack was caused by terrorist but was a cover up as the president as a tough leader in the war on terror. susan rice went on t

. >> bret: eric nordstrom, one of the witnesses today testifying at the house hearing on benghazi, a lot to talk about. let's bring in our panel. steve hayes, seen writer for the krauthammer.rd, mara, and overview, first of all, charles? >> well, i think we're getting something of an answer to what hillary said in that quote. she added at the end. it's our job to figure out what happened as opposed to what difference. well, now from all the testimony that we've heard today, it looks as if the job of the state department high officals and the state department was to control or suppress what had happened and that is extremely important. >> bret: one of the interesting back and forth moments, mara, happened about the talking points. take a listen to this. this is representative gowdy. >> would a highly decorated career diplomat have told you or washington had there been a demonstration outside his facility that day? >> yes, sir, he would have. >> did he mention one word about a protest or a demonstration? >> no, sir, he did not. >> so fast forward, mr. hicks, to the sunday talk shows an

in libya, on the day of those attacks, gregory hicks, libya's regional security coordinator, eric nordstrom and state department official mark thompson denying the white house version of what took place on that day. and the white house's explanation of their response over the days and weeks that followed. congressional investigators learned key details that haven't been made public by the obama administration. and we begin with the lack of response to americans under attack by terrorists and the failure of communication between the state department, the pentagon and libya. hicks confirmed forces were available in tripoli, but were told to stand down before they could mount a rescue effort. >> we determined that we needed to send a second team from tripoli to secure the airport for the withdrawal of our personnel from benghazi after the mortar attack. >> but were any of these u.s. military personnel not permitted to travel on a rescue mission or relief mission to benghazi? >> they were not authorized to travel. >> what happened with those personnel? >> they remained in tripoli with us. >> we

secondly can, we found out that hillary clinton, via eric nordstrom, the chief of security in libya, he said that the secretary of state, quote, absolutely was aware of the numerous requests for more security on the ground leading up to the attacks, all of which were denied. and finally, back to mr. hicks. he got a phone call from secretary clinton's chief of staff strucking him not to comply and not to cooperate with congressional investigators. he said that was unprecedented in his 22 year career, and when he refused to comply, he was denoted. >> but the public is going to be seeing in the months and years ahead, it's hillary clinton saying, who cares? that emotional -- who cares? that is going to be seen widely. and i suspect that will be used in any attempt by hillary clinton to run in 2016. that will come back, is it not? >> i think what is interesting is we look at 2016, if we're talking about it -- secretary clinton has a high approval rating right now. the secretary of state. she really enjoyed some very good -- i guess she was in a lofty perch and she said out of the muck an

diplomat in libya at the time of those attacks, gregory hicks, libya's regional security coordinator eric nordstrommpson all contradicted the white house's versn of what took place that day and the white house explanation of its response in the days and weeks that followed did congressional investigators learning key details that have not been publicly obama administration.

earlier that you're not -- these are -- the only people that are going to testify along with eric nordstrom who testified earlier. but there are others watching. watching for what? >> i think they're afraid of retribution. they've had trouble just getting an attorney. the state department hasn't given us the documents they want. every single turn, the state house and the white house has impeded this investigation. there are other people on the ground with first-hand knowledge that want to testify, and i think will testify at some point. >> congressman, how do y explain the fact that eight months after benghazi, we have still not heard from a single witness who was on the ground that night in benghazi? >> we've had an accountability review board that went through this, led by ambassador pickering and admiral mullen. they interviewed 100 witnesses who were on the ground, some of whom were on the ground obviously, and many who were involved peripherally. and they made a review that there was no breach of duty here. they made a determination that the critical element here was that the host coun

eric nordstrom, gregory hicks and mark thompson. they all have information on the benghazi attacks that they want to tell congress. we heard from nordstrom previously back in october when he testified before the same house committee that will hear from the three men on wednesday. nordstrom was the top security officer in libya in the months leading up to the attacks and said previously that the state department refused his requests for more security. the two other men, gregory hicks, he was the second highest ranking u.s. diplomat in libya at the time of the attacks and mark thompson, a state department counter terrorism official. they describe themselves as benghazi whistle blowers. the committee says other witnesses may be added to that hearing. meanwhile, one washington attorney who says she represents benghazi whistleblower but won't say who splansz how she thinks wednesday's hearing will go. >> the overview of their testimony will tell what happened with the security issues prior to september 11th, what happened the night of se

the names are eric nordstrom, gregory hicks, and mark tampson. we've heard from nordstrom previously back in october when he testified before the same house committee that will hear from the men on wednesday. he was the top security officer in libya in the months leading up to the attacks and said previously that the state department refused his request for more security. two other men, gregory hicks, the second highest ranking u.s. diplomat in libya at the time of the attacks, and mark tampson, state department counterterrorism official have not told their stories publicly. the committee says other witnesses may be added to the hearing. meanwhile, one washington attorney, who says she represents a benghazi whistle blower, but won't say who, explains how she thinks wednesday's hearing will go. >> the overview of their testimony will tell what happened with the security issue s prior to september 11, what happened the night of september 11, and then what happened afterwards, including retaliation against employees. >> talking there obviously about

the matter is ongoing, and we have some testimony from eric nordstrom, regional security officer in benghazi. let's take a look at what he said. >> it matters to me personally, and it matters to my colleagues, to my colleagues at the department of state. it matters to the american public for whom we serve. >> jamie, all of it is not meant to underplay the tragedy that happening, the killing of a u.s. ambassador and several others. at the same time there was a confirmation hearing for the person that will replace chris stevens a few days ago, and only three members of the senate committee attended that meeting. if there is a real concern about what we are doing over there, what precautions we are going to be taking, what the ambassador's role will be, how he or she, likely a she, will behave in future situations, why not attend that area and ask some questions? >> that's right. because those are the hard, detailed policy work of senators and congressmen that unfortunately gets lost in the modern system. we only have one committee chairman that shows up, but -- but i think i would point out th

let's take a look at eric nordstrom. >> the committee's labors to uncover what happened prior, during and after the attack matter. it matters to me personally, and it matters to my colleagues at the department of state. it matters to the american public for whom we serve. and most importantly -- excuse me -- it matters to the friends and family of ambassador stevens, shawn smith, glen doherty, and tyrone woods who were murdered on september 11th, 2012. >>> no one is questioning the heroism of those who were repeatedly calling for help, but at the same time they already testified to the independent review board, with the exception of mr. thompson. so i'm wondering, what is your take on what we're still learning from these hearings. >> whatever is motivating these revelations, on one level an emotional level and frankly, as you and i have both been through all of this material for so long, what's remarkable is we didn't know some of this before. that's surprising to me. i think when it comes down to the substance of what might have been different or changed on the ground i myself don't

. >> bret: eric nordstrom, one of the witnesses today testifying at the house hearing on benghazi, a to talk about. let's bring in our panel. steve hayes, seen writer for the weekly standard, mara, and charles krauthammer. overview, first of all, charles? >> well, i think we're getting something of an answer to what hillary said in that quote. she added at the end. it's our job to figure out what happened as opposed to what difference. well, now from all the testimony that we've heard today, it looks as if the job of the state department high officials and the state department was to control or suppress what had happened and that is extremely important. >> bret: one of the interesting back and forth moments, mara, happened about the talking points. take a listen to this. this is representative gowdy. >> would a highly decorated career diplomat have told you or washington had there been a demonstration outside his facility that day? >> yes, sir, he would have. >> did he mention one word about a protest or a demonstration? >> no, sir, he did not. >> so fast forward, mr. hicks, to the s

mark thompson, gregory hicks and eric nordstrom have been given their october that day and afterwards. one of the big questions, why did not susan rice call it a terror attack after that day. listen. >> what happened initially it was a spontaneous reaction to what had just transpired in cairo as a consequence of the video that people gathered outside the embassy. then it grew very violent. >> fast forward, mr. hicks, to the sunday talk shows and ambassador susan rice. she blamed it on a video, she did five different times. what was your reaction to that? >> i was stunned. my jaw dropped. i was embarrased. >> dana: greg, you were watching the testimony earlier today, what do you think? >>. >> greg: i have to say media, is president obama's scandal condom. nothing gets through. they catch a break no matter what. hillary should put charles ramsey on her ticket. bob, you said, it is incredible, an amazing story you have the democrats in these hearings carrying more water an fleet of camels. you have media, they see something like this. oh, my god a trial. we have to follow the trial. ther

. >> reporter: colonel wood and eric nordstrom saw the signs of growing peril as the ambassador repeatedlyed for help? >> we pursued the requests for security. again, me and eric watched the things be turned down again and again and then began to withdraw what they had there in libya. >> reporter: despite the colonel's dire warnings, the security team in libya was gutted, cut from 34 security personnel down to just 8, handling diplomatic protection for the vast and troubled country. when ambassador stevens asked for more security, he was told? >> he was told no. he was told normalize. normalize. normalize. we fought that battle with state department main and d.c. they did not see the world as it was, especially in libya. >> reporter: a former security officer referred to a list of 230 security incidents in libya that happened between june 2011 and july 2012 writeing that "the incidents create a clear picture that the environment in libya was fragile at best and could degrade quickly." do you know as a fact as a former security officer in libya that there were islamists, that there were ter

>> reporter: former regional security officer in libya eric nordstrom last october testified about hisrity agents. why was this denied? >> you know what makes this assignment most frustrating is not the hardships. not the gunfire, not the threats. it's dealing and fighting against the people, programs, and personnel who are supposed to be supporting me. for me, the taliban is on the inside of the building. >> reporter: what about possible military support on the night of the attacks? the pentagon says the closest fighter planes were too far away with no tanker assets. >> time, distance, the lack of an adequate warning, events that moved very quickly on the ground prevented a more immediate response. >> reporter: sources tell cnn that greg hicks, then the number two diplomat in libya, will testify tomorrow that after the first attack on the compound in benghazi but before the second attack on the cia annex, four u.s. special forces troops in tripoli discussed reaching benghazi in a libyan aircraft. but the troops were told to stand down, much to the dismay of their commander who, accord

the fact eric nordstrom repeatedly asked for additional security personal in libya was not only denied additional help but they had, what they had was reduced had nothing to do with resources according to charlene lamb's testimony in front of the committee last october. the best evidence is the testimony from the people who made the decisions. that is what charlene lamb said to this resources question the other party wants to raise. >> lastly, you and house oversight committee chairman issa say you'll hold responsible officials accountable for the irs inquiries into certain 501-c4 groups, many of them tea party groups. what does that mean? what do you and congressman issa plan to do? >> same thing. have hearings, get to the truth. the staff at the oversight committee have talked at the inspector general's office. this was over four years systematically targeting conservative groups. your government doing that to you as an american citizen exercising first amendment rights to be involved in groups you want to be involved in. that is unconscionable and went on for a couple years and syst

fox news has revealed and was the first to reveal the names of eric nordstrom, gregory hicks, and mark thompson. they will speak publicly together for the first time this weekend in front of the house oversight committee. utah congressman jason shay fits will be at the hearing. he accuses the obama administration of trying to suppress them. >> they're scared to death of what the state department is doing to them. look. we're the other branch of government. they need to be able to reveal this type of information. >> the obama administration denied those accusations several times. press secretary jay carney said last week the white house is not aware of any agency attempts to keep any potential witnesses from coming forward. elizabeth prann with more from the d.c. bureau. >> reporter: ahead of wednesday's house hearing response to the terrorist attack that cost four american lives in benghazi, we're getting a peek into one of the whistle blowers' testimony. the house oversight committee releasing a transcript of the interview of the deputy chief of the mission at the ambassador in libya,

number 3, eric nordstrom in libya testifying the accountability review board never questioned secretary of state hillary clinton about the attack. john mccain has been demanding answers from the beginning. senator, your reaction to today? >> not surprised but saddened by this testimony of these brave public servants who were told not to talk to congress, which is a violation. but it's pretty clear what we knew from the beginning, that this was not a spontaneous attack sparked by a hateful video. i was on one of the sunday morning shows following susan rice and they said what do you think? i said bring more tars and rocket -- you don't bring mortarses so response contains demonstrations. the question is why would they do that? you have to understand it in the context of a presidential campaign. the whole line of the presidential campaign to reelect barack obama was bin laden is dead, al-qaeda is decimated. here on the run. no terrorist attacks anywhere. then of course this happened and it had the capability of disrupting that narrative in a crucial time in the campaign. that explains som

. >> soon after one of the witnesses referred to, eric nordstrom, delivered his opening statement. >> committee's labors to uncover what happened prior, during and after the attack matter. it matters to me personally. and it matters to my colleagues, to my colleagues at the department of state. it matters to the american public for whom we serve and most importantly -- excuse me. it matters to the friends and family of ambassador stevens, shawn smith, glenn dougherty and tyrone woods who were murdered on september 11th, 2012. >> joining me now, pennsylvania congressman, democrat and member of the committee that held the hearing today, thank you so much congressman for your time. republicans have said these witnesses will bring to the table new information that, in a sense, would make the case that they have attempted to make and that this is some type of cover-up. was that proven today? . >> tamron, it is nice to be on the show. i have to say, i am a proud member of the house oversight and government reform committee. this has is work that all of us, democrats and republicans, take se

>> reporter: but at the hearing today, eric nordstrom, the former regional security officer in libya,t does make a difference.ç >> it matters to me personally and it matters to my colleagues at the department of state. it matters to the american public for whom we serve. and, most importantly, it matters to the friends and families of ambassador stevens, shawn smith, glenn doherty, tyrone woods who were murdered on september 11th, 2012. >> reporter: a revi board led by former ambassador thomas pickering and former admiral mike mullen found that serious management and leadership failures at the state departmenç led to grossly inadequate security in benghazi. republicans argued today the review did not get at all the facts and that a cover-up continues. in turn, white house spokesman jay carney insisted the administration has cooperated fully, and he lashed out at the critics. >> attempts to politicize this which have guided republicans unfortunately since the hours after the attack anthe reublin nonee r president issued a highly misguided press release about it in an attempt to turn i

eric nordstrom, he's the former regional security officer for the u.s. embassy in tripoli, libya.been talking about why -- questions he has about why diplomats in libya were not given enough security, despite repeated requests for security. there is also the former number two at the embassy, former deputy chief of mission, gregory hicks. he's been talking quite a bit about what was going on. one little bit of news that he expressed earlier was that the reason why the compound in benghazi was there, and why the ambassador, chris stevens, who was killed the night of september 11th at that post, the reason why he went there according to hicks is because hillary clinton, the secretary of state, wanted it to be a permanent post in benghazi. and she wanted a report by the environment in benghazi, on the political environment and the security environment. in addition, hicks talked about when he watched the sunday shows and saw the u.s. ambassador to the united nations susan rice talk about how this was a spontaneous demonstration against the anti-muslim video that got out of hand and not

and then eric nordstrom, who was the person who was the canary in the coal mine, if you will, that was pushing for more security, saying that this was a problem, leading up to and shortly before the attack. and we believe this gets us back to where we were on october 10, it takes us forward to the next step of the unanswered questions, even after we gave the state department plenty of time to give those answers. >> schieffer: well, as we understand it now, the state department is reviewing its investigation now. thaition comes at your request. >> it does. but this is one of those things where we gave plenty of time. we stayed out of the politics of it. we let the process go through. it left us with more questions than answers. and certainly it doesn't give the most key answer that i think we all want. if we knew it was terrorism, if the president said, the at least in his debates, that in the rose garden he called it an act of terrorism, then why is it they denied terrorism-- essentially rebuking the president of libya, on your show awe few days later? >> schieffer: the story still rem

have respect for ambassador pickering, but there were already questions raised, for example, eric nordstrom said that there were key decisionmakers that weren't interviewed by the arb. mark thompson, a top council terrorism official that was asked to be interviewed was not. i was interested to hear that they did not probe secretary clinton in detail, because obviously she was the decisionmaker at the state department. >> luckily for america, senator dick durbin was standing by to set the record straight. >> thomas pickering appeared on your show this morning. i wish he would have appeared at the hearing last week. he asked to be there. he should have been there. he's the most respected diplomat in washington. he, together with admiral mullen, went through a lengthy review of the security aspect of this. they came up with a recommendation for changes, which were accepted by secretary clinton and president obama. unfortunately, this has been caught up in the 2016 presidential campaign. this effort to go after hillary clinton. the reason she wasn't interviewed was she didn't have any direct-li