i have tremendous respect for mr. gowdy and i'm glad he said that the fundraising should not be done on the deaths of these four people and i hope that the republican conference will finally agree with that. we are better than that. one that is truly bipartisan and one that seeks the facts before drawing conclusions, rather than the other way around. and so, i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from texas. mr. sessions: mr. speaker, i yield myself such time as i may consume. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized. mr. sessions: today is a historic day. as a result of the obama administration's unwillingness to openly work with house republicans in our ongoing effort to uncover the facts surrounding the events of the 2012 terrorist attack on the american diplomatic mission in benghazi, lib yarks the united states house of representatives is left with no option except to select -- except to establish a select committee on benghazi. as the author of this resolution, i would like to take the opport

cummings is meeting with mr. gowdy to specifically ask, what is the mission of this select committee? because it's incumbent on mr. gowdy to define what information is it that they're searching for, that isn't already contained in the eight reports that have been produced about benghazi. what information is lacking? because i think the material has been thoroughly gone over. so i think that it's a question for the chairman of this committee, mr. gowdy, what information is it that he's seeking that has not already been provided. what questions need to be answered that have not already been asked and answered, not once, but multiple times, at great cost to american taxpayer. >> congresswoman, if that is your position, then why couldn't democrats ask those very questions from the sidelines? why sit on the panel and essentially allow republicans to call it bipartisan? haven't you essentially emboldened republicans, whatever fishing expedition you do, you're actually giving it legitimacy? >> i think that's not correct. if y

and mr. gowdy won't do it, he's a good man, but you know what if we're going to proceed it's got to be on the level. we've got a 7-5 committee that's being organized, it's not evenhanded. you can't have these tough decisions that not only have to be made right, they have to be made so that there's credibility with the american people that they're on the level and not political where you don't have a bipartisan approach. you don't have everybody weighing in on subpoenas. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman's time has expired. the gentleman from texas. mr. sessions: thank you very much. there are lots of questions, the first is why didn't the military come help these men when they were in need over this fire fight for several hours. we'll just start there. at this time i'd like to yield two minutes to the gentleman from arkansas, mr. cotton, a member of the foreign affairs committee. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized for two nutes. mr. cotton: couple lessons i learned is you mov

i don't know what's going to happen with regard to mr. gowdy. everything that i have seen from him and i do consider him a great prosecutor, and i have seen him in the prosecutor mode in our committee, but as far as this committee is concerned, we have to go in and be finders of the fact and go in neutral and don't need to be making accusations before we get in the room to hear the facts. i don't know what's going to happen, but the one thing he said to me he is hopeful that we would be able to have a situation where there would be fairness and i'm going to hold him to that and all of us are going to hold him to that. and the last thing, one of the reasons why the leader was so concerned about that and i was, too, is we had situations where in the oversight committee where we were not consulted at all with regard to subpoenas. and that's a very, very serious responsibility and we think the minority should be included in that process. >> i agree with my colleagues and this is a committee that should not have been formed. it has been investigated

>> you know, i serve on a committee with mr. gowdy. i would hope that if this goes forward they will do so in a way that allows both sides to have the information to make sure the depositions are provided for in a fair manner for both sides. mr. gowdy has a responsibility to the american people not to his party. to make this a fair process and investigation. >> nevada congressman steven horsford, thank you for your time. >> thank you. >> after the break, world leaders join the u.s. in condemning the kidnapping of nearly 300 girls by the jihadist group boko haram, an act not even al qaeda will condone. we will discuss the disturbing state of terror in africa when the assistant to the president for homeland security and terror. joins me next on "now." ughter's. he thought it was the end of the conversation. she didn't tell him that her college expenses were going up. or that she maxed out her card during spring break. when the satellite provider checked his credit, he found out his daughter didn't pay her bills. but he's not worried. now

awkward, they're trying to raise money, mr. gowdy, saying they shouldn't do that.ing if any one tries. awkward for the republican party to deal with. they don't want to give up exploiting the attack for the money. the guy they have chosen as their poster child for giving money to the republicans. benghazi. this is awkward. what should they do. what should they say. when reporters ask about the problem that they have got. what could they say if they're not going to stop doing what they're doing. turns out john boehner at least can swallow his humanity, turn himself into a robot or at least one of the dolls where you pull the string in its neck. the same phrase comes out over and over. turns out that is one option. >> our focus is on giving the answers to those families who lost their loved ones, period. >> our focus is getting the truth for the four families and the american people. >> our focus is on -- the 3 trillionth investigation into the benghazi tragedy, that republicans are determined to turn into a scandal. they're trying to up the seriousness of what they'

he also says mr. gowdy has his facts wrong.ou said miscommittee wanted to hear from hillary clinton. here what happens she had to say moments ago about the new probe at a forum in new york city. >> there are a lot of reasons why, despite all of the hearings all of the information that's been provided, some choose not to be satisfied and choose to continue to move forward. that's their choice and i do not believe there is any reason for it to continue in this way, but they get to call the shots in the congress. >> you get to call the shots -- >> when we come back, a vulnerable democrat who made it clear president obama does not speak for him. why is he walking side by side with the commander in chief today. >>> thrust into the spotlight a year ago, charles ramsey, the hero of cleveland, joins me to share new detail of the day and his life since. we asked people a question, how much money do you think you'll need when you retire? then we gave each person a ribbon to show how many years that amount might last. i was trying to, lik

if mr. gowdy wants to put in -- he's play withing the national security of the united states. they're already fundraising on it, the republicans are. it's a shameless exercise. >> both sides spunked raise off stuff like this all the time. aside from that, i don't think we have answers about what happened there and we don't have answers about how the white house responded. they've given one answer, we see other answers by these emails. they were worried about the president's reelection and not being straight with the people about what happened. i think it's great that you played that whole string of trey gowdy because it gives people an idea of why he was picked to head this committee, regardless of whether you think it's a good idea or bad idea, they thought it was a good decision based on the fact he was a successful prosecutor. they think he can do the best job ferreting out the answers to these questions. they're important answers that we don't have and just what you were talking about now about the c.i.a., i think a lot of people don't know about that. >> there's a reason

democrats, what they are asking issue is that mr. gowdy no subpoenas without the democrats signing off. mr. gowdy said it is a nonstarter. there does seem to be a pretty definitive rub there. i think some other concessions could be on the roster of witnesses that would be called, on the timing of the hearings. maybe narrowing the scope somewhat. giving the republicans, going beyond what may be the rules require, and giving the democrats more witnesses. generally the rolling committees is the minority is entitled to call a witness. saysimes the majority side you can call a witness but we get to veto who that witnesses. the minority side says that is not fair, they should have some latitude to mount their own side of the case in this regard. host: let's go to john from glen , illinois.nview democratic caller. caller: i have one comment and then one question. i don't know if you saw the segment that was just ended, but someone made a comment that assistant secretary of state, ande is video on c-span -- assistant secretary of state was asked w

i would say stay tuned on mr. gowdy, briefly, you don't give the administration credit -- >> it's another example of leading from behind. we should be leading this international effort from the front. >> all right, remember, if you have your own hit or miss, please send it to us at fox news.com. and be sure to follow us on twitter. that's it for this week's show. thanks to my panel, and to all of you for watching. hope to see you right here next week. >>> fox news alert, as violence erupts once again in eastern ukraine. hello, everyone, i'm eric shawn. right now, hearing reports of ukrainian national guardsmen opening fire on a crowd outside a town hall where they are voting in eastern ukraine. this news comes as pro-russian separatists hold referendums on the secession of two regions in the eastern ukraine, vowing to create their own country. ukrainian government, though, and the west, rejecting the vote as illegitimate, saying they will not recognize the results. greg is streaming live from la shootings and the renewe

implementing the recommendations the very sound recommendations of the accountability review boards. >> mr. gowdy can unilaterally subpoena witnesses. mr. cummings have you talked to him and you think you have a relationship with him that you can come to some kind of -- that can be consulted beforehand? >> i talk to gowdy very briefly yesterday and you know, we basically wanted to be in a position where we were consulted with regard to subpoenas and if there was disagreement we were asking that it be brought to a vote of the committee. and that is what we were asking for. of course it's a 7-5 split as you know so they have the votes in one of the reasons why we wanted that is because we believe that the conversation would be very significant and it may have been things we could have done to move that process along so we didn't have to go that far but the fact is i don't know what's going to happen with regard to mr. gowdy. everything that i've seen from him and i do consider him a great prosecutor and i have seen him in a prosecutorial mode on our committee. i think as far as this committee is co

. >> i'm sure the republican party and my friend mr. gowdy will continue to raise money and stek up anger about this false narrative that they're projecting on benghazi. it just seems to be a scheme to help drive out those extreme voters who want to hear about this. and clekd money payment and then try to get those voters out to try to win the senate. >> the republicans keep going on scandals, scandals, scandals, yet the president is seen focused on the economy, on the upcoming midterm elections. listen to this. >> and so the question is, what are we going to do about it in this midterm? the choices couldn't be clear. the choices could not be clear. as democrats, i believe we should be fighting for equal pay for equal work. they do not. that's a choice. if you work full time, you should not be in poverty, we should increase the minimum wage. it's the right thing to do. >> is that what is going to be critical in these midterm elections that democrats should remain focuses on these issues? >> absolutely. this is what people want to here about i

democrats, what they are asking issue is that mr. gowdyo subpoenas without the democrats signing off. mr. gowdy said it is a nonstarter. there does seem to be a pretty definitive rub there. i think some other concessions could be on the roster of witnesses that would be called, on the timing of the hearings. maybe narrowing the scope somewhat. giving the republicans, going beyond what may be the rules require, and giving the democrats more witnesses. generally the rolling committees is the minority is entitled to call a witness. saysimes the majority side you can call a witness but we get to veto who that witnesses. the minority side says that is not fair, they should have some latitude to mount their own side of the case in this regard. host: let's go to john from glen , illinois.nview democratic caller. caller: i have one comment and then one question. i don't know if you saw the segment that was just ended, but someone made a comment that assistant secretary of state, ande is video on c-span -- assistant secretary of state was asked was

and mr. gowdy won't do it, he's a good man, but you know what if we're going to proceed it's got to be on the level. we've got a 7-5 committee that's being organized, it's not evenhanded. you can't have these tough decisions that not only have to be made right, they have to be made so that there's credibility with the american people that they're on the level and not political where you don't have a bipartisan approach. you don't have everybody weighing in on subpoenas. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman's time has expired. the gentleman from texas. mr. sessions: thank you very much. there are lots of questions, the first is why didn't the military come help these men when they were in need over this fire fight for several hours. we'll just start there. at this time i'd like to yield two minutes to the gentleman from arkansas, mr. cotton, a member of the foreign affairs committee. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized for two nutes. mr. cotton: couple lessons i learned is you mov

democrats, what they are asking issue is that mr. gowdy no subpoenas without the democrats signing off. mr. gowdy said it is a nonstarter. there does seem to be a pretty definitive rub there. i think some other concessions could be on the roster of witnesses that would be called, on the timing of the hearings. maybe narrowing the scope somewhat. giving the republicans, going beyond what may be the rules require, and giving the democrats more witnesses. generally the rolling committees is the minority is entitled to call a witness. saysimes the majority side you can call a witness but we get to veto who that witnesses. the minority side says that is not fair, they should have some latitude to mount their own side of the case in this regard. host: let's go to john from glen , illinois.nview democratic caller. caller: i have one comment and then one question. i don't know if you saw the segment that was just ended, but someone made a comment that assistant secretary of state, ande is video on c-span -- assistant secretary of state was asked w

mr. gowdyware of and knows the sensitive nature of not only the investigation but also how this will be handled. and mr. gowdy, i will assure you, is very prepared to match and to meet the members that the -- that ms. pelosi has put on the committee, and i think that you will see that the people that serve as a result of the speaker appointing them will serve with honor and distinction and will work well and fairly together. i thank the gentleman for asking. mr. mcgovern: and i thank the gentleman for his answer and for his reassurances and we'll certainly be watching. in our opinion fairness means consultation with the democrats and not leaving us out of the loop. again, i'd point out to my colleagues that the inquiries into the benghazi situation thus far has been highly partisan, and the oversight committee, in particular, has been run i think in a very -- in an inappropriate manner. so i appreciate the gentleman's assurances, and we will watch and hope that what the gentleman just said woul

good evening soon to be chairman mr. gowdy. >> how are you? >> i'm doing well. this is a partisan, this is a witch-hunt. how are you going to convince the american people that this is going to be a fair hearing, a fair investigation? >> well, greta, your viewers auto would still have the same unanswered questions as we have. why our so low on 9/11. why we didn't have any assets moving during the siege itself and why the government can't answer your questions completely and accurately in the aftermath. the jury i'm interested in are reasonable minded, fair minded people like your viewers, washington is its own ecosystem. they wouldn't like it if i cured malaria tonight. i mean because i'm a republican. so, of course they are going to be critical. that's not the jury. although i would tell adam and some of my other colleagues to at least let us have a hearing before you judge it. i mean, let the committee be constituted and the rules be adopted before you declare it to be a political exercise. that's not too much to ask, is it. >> you refer to adam, i take it you

i don't know what's going to happen with regard to mr. gowdy. everything that i have seen from him and i do consider him a great prosecutor, and i have prosecutor mode in our committee, but as far as this committee is concerned, we have to go in and be finders of the fact and go in neutral and don't need to be making accusations before we get in the room to hear the facts. i don't know what's going to happen, but the one thing he said to me he is hopeful that we would be able to have a situation where there would be fairness and i'm going to hold him to that and all of us are that.to hold him to and the last thing, one of the reasons why the leader was so concerned about that and i was, too, is we had situations where in the oversight committee where we were not consulted at all with regard to subpoenas. and that's a very, very serious responsibility and we think the minority should be included in that process. >> i agree with my colleagues and this is a committee that should not have been formed. it has been investigated eight times but since t

the question that mr. gowdy has to answer, what is the select committee looking for and what evidence or facts does he think that exists that have not been brought the light in the eight reports that have bp prepared and the numerous investigations that have already taken place. >> and congresswoman, and here is the thing, a lot of folks who have been very critical of the decision for you guys to even join this thing. how real is the concern that nothing comes out of this except for more of the same hoopla and the prop gaganda that we have sn so far, and instead of it being a republican witch hunt, it is now a bipartisan witch hunt or the bipartisan circus, and how real is that concern? >> well, the concern more clearly expressed is that in having unequal number of people h on the comm on the committee, they will have the votes to do whatever they want, but by having the democrats in the room, we can check them at every turn with every decision that they make. we can you know check them when they are playing loo

i have tremendous respect for mr. gowdy, and i'm glad that he said the fundraising should not be done on the deaths of these four people. and i hope that the republican conference will finally agree with that. we are better than that! >> here's the question, are they or aren't they? house speaker boehner was questioned rather well by luke russert of nbc about whether it was appropriate to raise money over the deaths of americans overseas. by the way, one of these fundraisers asked for $500 for the four dead americans. it was ruthless. here's luke res sert going after boehner asking if he thinks it's appropriate. >> speaker boehner, should the nrcc fundraise off your earths with the select committee? >> our focus is on getting the answers to those families who lost their loved ones. period. >> but should the nrcc, they're fundraising off of it right now? is that the right thing to do? >> our focus is getting the truth of these four families of the american people. >> the campaign committee, which you are very involved in is

mr. gowdy, congressman, former prosecutor, says it's not going to be a hearing.e says it's going to be depositions. what does that mean? does that change the landscape at all. >> look, trey goudy has raised money off of benghazi, i mean, selecting him to lead this, i mean, he is one of the more extreme tea party adherence to their right wing doctrine and you know, it has been obsessed himself with benghazi. i mean, choosing him was very transparent, what they're trying to do is make sure that this remains an election year issue. they are going to fan these flames, and try to get this as white hot as they can. the problem is the american people want us focus on job creation, focus on getting the economy turned around and creating opportunities for everyone rather than the select few the republicans care about. >> do you think hillary clinton will or should cooperate if she is subpoenaed? >> you know, secretary clinton has been cooperative all the way through. she has come and testified in front of the government oversight committee, even after she was no longer se

so -- i'm going to be meeting with mr. gowdy and this is news for you, hot off the press, we're going to be going over what the aim of the committee is and what questions we're trying to answer. >> one question that comes to mind, there was a political report today that hillary clinton's people who are obviously involved and concerned where this is going, wanted the democrats to play a role, wanted you in the room. did you communicate with hillary clinton representatives? or anyone from that team? >> no, let me be clear. i believe that secretary clinton can fend for herself. and but the thing i'm also concerned about is when the republicans under issa would bring witnesses and present them before us, that we never had any access too and if they are allowed, andrea, to say thing and it not be challenged, that's there's not a search for the trunl, whole truth and nothing but the truth, there's a problem. it's better to be in the room. >> alan west, former member of congress and now a fox contributor has questioned the loyalty of t

. >> mr. gowdy has said that the party should not be raising money off the issue of benghazi.you agree? and if so, will you urge the nrcc to stop? >> look, there's a lot of discussion about the creation of the select committee and around the politics of it versus the policy of it, and i know that, you know, there's much being hurled about right now, and i think it's best for all of us in these halls to focus on what the reason is for the creation of the committee. >> he just sidestepped, congressman, the whole issue. i mean, what kind of leadership is that? >> it's a leadership that cares more about politics than getting to the truth, and the truth of the matter is this, rev, is that there's been two official investigations. one, by the state department, another one by the senate intelligence committee. both have shown that this was an attack, there was a failure of intelligence, but there was nothing -- no coverup, and there was no military response that could have been launched in time to save those four americans. there's also darrell issa, as you know, who has had the over

. >> i want to play sound from mr. gowdy earlier trying to flip this back around on democrats crying hypocrisy. >> the duplicity and hypocrisy of democrats all of a cud concluding that certain things are above politics. they raise money on sandy hook. they raised money on katrina. they raised money on iraq an afghanistan. >> um, i think that's not quite the right comparison. >> i think he is pointing to outside groups and different groups that they do raise money, they do -- these tragedies, talking about politicizing tragedies. i mean everyone does it. democrats do it. republicans do it. the thing with gowdy is that he does -- if you talk to democrats in congress, they actually believe that gowdy is legit player and that he actually does believe that republicans should not fund raise off of this. i think there is a split in republicans over whether or not they should be doing that or not. boehner very pointedly would not answer questions the other day at a press conference, like do you think that the nrcc should be doing th

i have tremendous respect for mr. gowdy.that the fund-raising should not be done on the deaths of these four people am and i hope that the republican conference will finally agree with that. we are better than that! >> last week a line was crossed in two places. first came to light that the white house -- >> formal congressional subpoena. >> our committee sought to make sure that they wouldn't fight. to help the american people from finding the truth as well. >> with us now is >> woodruff: with us now to talk about the latest, robert costa of "the washington post." congressional reporter robert costa of the washington most and he joins us from capitol hill. robert casta welcome back to the newshour. it's been two years since ben gazy almost will be in september. the speaker earlier was against a new investigation. what has caused him to change his mind? >> there was a release of recent documents procured by judicial watch, a conservative group. and these documents included new e-mails about how the white house messaged the a

we will not even begin to have hearings, according to mr. gowdycommittee for another month, month and a half at best. i mean, it really does undermine the select committee, and there's another thing that undermines the select committee, and that is this fundraising with regard to the deaths of these four diplomats. it's so sad what's going on with the republicans. the one thing i want to make clear is? all of us on the democratic side are willing to vote and pledge that we will not fundraise based upon the deaths of these four brave americans. >> we did a chat, and it really got a ton of response. a lot of it was from the usual sort of trolling and people sort of asking the same kind of conspiracy theory questions, but a lot of people also asking why democrats are interested at all. i it ask your colleague congresswoman sanchez who was on the committee. you have a "time" article saying the democrats have lent a bipartisan air to something you just also described as kind of a fundraiser for republicans. let me let you listen to what your colleague

mr. speaker. our young chairman gowdy will not whitewash this investigation. our committee is not empowered just to go off and twitter away the time. there will be serious members of this body. i look forward to finding out -- former speaker pelosi and appoints to the committee i will be intensely interested to see who speaker boehner apoints and i think they will represent the very best from this body, that they will be young men and young men -- women who have been part of an unders of how to carefully look for the facts of the case and not an inch beyond, how to ask questions that are fair and those that represent the very best of only learning the truth and not an inch more. and i have confidence ths house of representatives, through the leadership of mr. gowdy, will bring not only excellence, but will stand as a model of how the house of representatives should conduct itself when they have a problem with an administration, whether it be republican or democrat. and i i will predict today that those people that former speaker pelosi brings to the people and

. >> chair thanks the gentleman and recognizes the gentleman from south carolina, mr. gowdy for five minutes. >> thank you marx chairman. mr. secretary, you had a very distinguished career as an attorney so i'll ask you some legal questions. what is the difference between prosecutorial discretion and the wholesale failure too enforce a category of law? >> prosecutorial disaggression is a prioritization, now, something who is a low priority is not necessarily, therefore, beyond the reach of the law. they arlo priority. but they don't have any sort of status that says, you have amnesty. >> on the doctrine of prosecutorial -- >> i'm sorry. >> are there limits on the doctrine of prosecutorial discretion? >> daka -- >> no. are there limits -- >> or on individual -- >> -- are there any categories of law that the chief executive really actually has to enforce and this time we really mean it? >> as a lawyer i will tell you i believe there are. there comes a point where something looks like a wholesale abandonment of the enforcement of the law versus prosecutorial discretion. so i --

i have asked mr. gowdy of south carolina to chair this panel. he is a well respected member of this body and he has my complete confidence. and i will convey to you what i conveyed to him. this doesn't need to be, shouldn't be and will not be a partisan process. four americans died at the hands of terrorists in a well-coordinated assault and we will not take any shortcuts to the truth, accountability or justice. and we will not allow any side shows that distract us from those goals. our system of government depends on transparency and accountability. and either we do this well or we face the terrifying prospect of our people having less knowledge and less power over their own government. and we owe it to future generations to make the right choice. so i ask all the members of this body to reflect on this matter and ask you to support this resolution. and i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from texas. mr. sessions: we reserve. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman reserves. the gentlelady from new york. ms. slaughter: thank you

today" op ed published yesterday, my friend, mr. gowdy from south carolina, asked, quote, was our military response during the siege sufficient? to save us all the time and resources that the speaker now plans to spend apparently on his proposed partisan show panel, respectfully i'd recommend that my colleagues pose that very question to the esteemed republican chairman of the house armed services committee, who stated last week, and i quote, the armed services committee has interviewed more than a dozen witnesses in the operational chain of command. yielding thousands of pages of transcripts, emails and other documents. we have no evidence that the department of state officials delayed the decision to deploy those resources available to the d.o.d. to respond. with their one-sided partisan select committee, we will not further an investigation, we won't get at the truth my friend, ms. ros-lehtinen from florida, talked about. we will reveal nothing new. rather, we will do our great nation a grave disservice, in continuing to perpetuate myt

past said we cannot believe republicans are trying to raise money off of benghazi to the point, mr. gowdythis yesterday to chris wallace. >> they raised money on sandy hook. they raised money on katrina. they raised money on iraq and afghanistan. for me, i will not raise money on benghazi just like i never raised money using crime victims when i was a prosecutor. and i'll ask my colleagues to follow suit. but it would be helpful, it would be helpful if our colleagues on the other side of the aisle did not have selective amnesia when it comes to what's appropriate to raise money off of and what is not. >> selective amnesia. you're right. >> that was an intelligent conversation. they actually engaged each other instead of yelling. the criteria democrats want is unreasonable for them to participate. i'm sure it is put out there to be -- hopefully they'll back off it. they want to be able to sign off all subpoenas. let's say the republicans want to see hillaryç clinton. i don't think so. there is no way trey gowdy should give them that. sign off on all witnesses, i think that is unreasonable

the clerk: mr. gowdy of south carolina, chairman. mr. westmoreland of georgia, mr.jordan of ohio, mr. roskam of illinois, mr. pompeo of kansas, mrs. brooks of indiana. the speaker pro tempore: the chair announces the speaker's appointment pursuant to section 201-b of the international religious freedom act of 1998, 2 u.s.c. 6431 and order of the house of january 3, 2013 of the following individuals on the part of the house to the commission on international religious freedom for a term effective ending may 14, 2016. the clerk: mr. robert p. george of new jersey and daniel i. mark f villanova, pennsylvania. the speaker pro tempore: the chair lays before the house a communication. the clerk: the honorable, the speaker, house of representatives, sir, this is to notify you formally pursuant to rule 8 of the rules of the house of representatives, that the house office of payroll and benefits also the chief administrative officer of the united states house of representatives has received a subpoena issued by the office of compliance for documents. after consultation with

gowdy can come to better terms on how we proceed. and it's with that hope and his great leadership that i present the chairman of our ranking member on this committee, mrcummings. >> thank you very much, madam leader. i, too, agree with you that we must be in pursuit of fairness and transparency, not only for the families of these great americans who we lost in libya but also for the american people. i do not believe a select committee is called for after eight reports, dozens of witness interviews and a review of more than 25,000 pages of documents. many of the so-called unanswered questions republicans have been raising recently have already been answered in these previous reports. also we do not believe a select committee rules proposed by the speaker are fair, open or designed to conduct a neutr neutral-reason, fact-based inquiry. despite these challenges, i have agreed to participate for two reasons. i want to thank my colleagues who have also -- >> you've been listening to nancy pelosi first and then elijah cummings. one of the people she's put on this benghazi select committee. let's get immediate analysis from catherine herridge who's live for

and chairman gowdy can come to some better terms on how we proceed and it is with that hope and his great leadership that i present the chairman of our ranking member on this committee, mr. cummings. >> thank you very much, madam leader, and i, too, agree with you that we must be in pursuit of fairness and transparency not only for the families of these great americans who we lost in libya, but also for the american people. i do not believe the select committee has called for after eight reports dozens of witness interviews in a review of more than 25,000 pages of documents. many of the so-called unanswered questions republicans have been raising recently have already been answered in these previous reports. a fair open or dined to conduct a neutral reason, fact-based inquiry. i want to thank my colleagues who have also agreed to participate. first, as you know, i've served as the ranking member on the oversight committee for the past three years. in that role i have seen firsthand how abusive the republicans have been during this investigation. they've issued unilateral subpoenas. thief made unsubstantiated accusations with no evidence to back them up, and they have re

gowdy is no stranger to questioning the white house over issue of benghazi. listen to what he has said on this over the past year-and-a-half. >> so fast forward, mr. hicks, to the sunday talk shows and ambassador susan rice. she blamed this attack on a 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. >> this is what i want. i want to know everything that happened in benghazi. i want to know why the security wasn't in place. i want to know whether there were assets on the way to benghazi when the siege ended. i'm tired of hearing politicians guess at what happened or people theorize. i want to talk to eyewitnesses. eight months from an administration said they are going to move heavy and earth to get to the bottom of benghazi. we still have huge gaps. how this administration could ignore what the intelligence community was telling them, what the state department was telling them and blame it on a video. susan rice was apparently the last person in country to know a video was not responsible. if the military have any evidence supporting the video narrative? >> n

gowdy can come to better terms as to how we proceed. it's with that hope and his great leadership that i present the chairman, our ranking member on this committee, mr. cummings. >> thank you very much. >> gloria borger and dana bash, let me bring you both in. we heard leader pelosi saying she wants her five democrats to be there, to fight for this fair hearing and process. that's the point of the column i just read of yours. they're calling this whole thing a witch hunt. they don't want to legitimize the process. if they're not there, to your point, they can't defend it. >> right. in the end she said she could have argued it both ways. in the end she decided she'd rather be inside the room than not inside the room. this is really important as dana knows which is that you want to have the access to documents, you want to be able to form your own narrative. you don't want any surprises, particularly when hillary clinton could be called to testify and she could be the democratic nominee for president. she's a big girl. she can take care of herself. but better to have some people on the committee who can actually know what's going to occur, and also ob

gowdy. the speaker pro tempore: without objection, the resignation is accepted. for what purpose does the gentleman from virginia seek recognition? wolff wolff mr. speaker, -- mr. wolf: mr. speaker, i send to the desk a privileged resolution and ask for its immediate consideration. the speaker pro tempore: the clerk will report the resolution. resolution electing certain members to certain standing committees of the house of representatives. mr. wolf: i ask unanimous consent that the resolution be considered as read. the speaker pro tempore: without objection, the reading is dispensed with. the gentleman from virginia is recognized. without objection, the resolution is agreed to and the motion to reconsider is laid on the table. the speaker pro tempore: for what purpose does the gentleman from virginia seek recognition? mr. wolf: mr. speaker, i ask unanimous consent that all members may have five legislative days to revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous material on the further consideration of h.r. 4660 and that i may include tabular material on the same. the speaker pro tempore: without objection. so ordered. pursuant to house resolution 585 a