Tipsheet

John Kerry Agrees to Comply With Benghazi Subpoena

Good news everyone. Secretary of State John Kerry has "agreed" to comply with a subpoena issued to him by the House Oversight Committee while hinting this is all just a political stunt. Although he has "agreed" to comply, he doesn't really have a choice and is required by law to do so.

“We’ll respond because we have absolutely nothing to hide whatsoever and I look forward to complying with whatever responsibilities we have,” Kerry said.

Pressed again about whether that would include testifying himself, Kerry repeated, “I look forward to complying with whatever responsibilities we have.”

“I’ve guaranteed that we would cooperate in every single way. We have and we will,” Kerry said, even while attributing the latest round of interest to partisan interests.

“Everybody needs to take a hard look and measure what’s already been put out there versus where this effort is going,” Kerry said.

The subpoena was issued to Kerry last week by the House Oversight Committee after new emails surfaced showing the White House was directly involved in altering Benghazi talking points.

“The State Department’s response to the congressional investigation of the Benghazi attack has shown a disturbing disregard for the Department’s legal obligations to Congress,” Oversight Committee Chairman Darrell Issa wrote in a letter to Kerry last week. “Compliance with a subpoena for documents is not a game. Because your Department is failing to meet its legal obligations, I am issuing a new subpoena to compel you to appear before the Committee to answer questions about your agency’s response to the congressional investigation of the Benghazi attack.”

Kerry has also been called to testify in front of the Committee on May 21. Depending on how the investigation of the select committee goes, former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton could also be called back to testify.