Last week, House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy made the huge mistake of tying Hillary Clinton's nosediving poll numbers directly to the work of the Benghazi Select Committee during an interview on Hannity.
"Everybody thought Hillary Clinton was unbeatable, right? But we put together a Benghazi special committee, a select committee. What are her numbers today? Her numbers are dropping. Why? Because she’s untrustable, but no one would have known that any of that had happened had we not fought to make that happen,” he said.
Democrats have been able to use the comments as "evidence" the Select Committee was created to go after Hillary Clinton and her presidential run, rather than truly getting to the bottom of what happened. In particular, Democrats on the Benghazi Select Committee immediately issued responses to the comments, with some members arguing for the Committee to be shut down.
“This stunning concession from Rep. McCarthy reveals the truth that Republicans never dared admit in public: the core Republican goal in establishing the Benghazi Committee was always to damage Hillary Clinton's presidential campaign and never to conduct an even-handed search for the facts. It is shameful that Republicans have used this tragedy and the deaths of our fellow Americans for political gain. Republicans have blatantly abused their authority in Congress by spending more than $4.5 million in taxpayer funds to pay for a political campaign against Hillary Clinton,” Ranking Member Elijah Cummings said in a statement.
His comments have also come under heavy fire from fellow Republicans and has even prompted a challenge for House Speaker from Utah Congressman Jason Chaffetz.
To no avail, McCarthy tried to clarify his comments during an interview with Special Report.
House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) said Thursday that he regrets remarks he made about Hillary Clinton and the House Select Committee on Benghazi.
"This committee was set up for one sole purpose: to find the truth on behalf of the families for four dead Americans," the California Republican said in an evening interview with Fox News' Bret Baier. "Now, I did not intend to imply in any way that that work is political. Of course it is not. Look at the way they have carried themselves out."
McCarthy also issued a statement this morning about the purpose of the Benghazi Select Committee.
"The mission of the Select Committee on Benghazi is to find the truth -- Period. The integrity of Chairman Gowdy, the Committee and the work they've accomplished is beyond reproach. The serious questions Secretary Clinton faces are due entirely to her own decision to put classified information at risk and endanger our national security," he said.
Now, Clinton's official campaign is using the comment in a new campaign ad. Not only does the ad use McCarthy's comments to destroy the credibility of criticism surrounding Benghazi, but it also slams Republicans for the use of millions in taxpayer dollars.
At this point, Benghazi won't sink Clinton's presidential campaign, but it certainly could ruin McCarthy's plans to become Speaker.
Join the conversation as a VIP Member