DISTRACTIONS

Benghazi Panel Centers on Hillary Emails

Most witnesses interviewed are from State Department.

A New York Times report Sunday found the House Select Committee on Benghazi has conducted only one of a dozen interviews it had planned to carry out in February, suggesting the panel has shifted its focus from the 2012 attacks in Libya to Hillary Clinton’s use of a private email server. Citing internal documents, the Times found the inquiry, which has already cost more than $4.5 million, sought additional testimony from at least 18 current and former State Department officials. An approximate tally by the Democratic minority staff reveals the panel has followed up with only one-third of witnesses from the intelligence community, none from the White House, and fewer than half from the Defense Department. However, more than 70 percent of witnesses from the State Department have been interviewed. The report comes as an ex-investigator on the committee railed against the panel for leading a “partisan investigation.”