Last week, United States District Judge Royce Lamberth ordered multiple senior State Department officials under the Obama administration to answer Judicial Watch’s questions related to Hillary Clinton’s email scandal and the Sept. 11, 2012 attack in Benghazi.
During Industry Day at the Range at SHOT Show 2019, I had the opportunity to talk with Kris "Tanto" Paronto, one of the men who survived the attack in Benghazi. Unfortunately, it was so windy at the range that the audio is hard to hear. But here's what he had to say:
Beth: We heard last week that Hillary Clinton's people are going to have to answer questions about Benghazi. How do you feel about that?
Kris: They've been answering questions so they knew what was going on. What bothers me is they knew what was going on. And they admitted it. They left us. They left us behind. Anybody with half a brain can see it was due to political reasons. So there's more questions, good. Let's continue gathering information–
Beth: But are we going to get answers?
Kris: But are we going to get answers? Bottom line is this: There has to be a politician that goes in there and says, 'You know what? We left these guys behind. And we tried to cover it up. And then we lied about it. And we utilized our own justice system and our own intel agency to hand off responsibility.' And now they're being held responsible, whether it's jail time or mass humiliation...I don't have a problem with that. It's necessary. There's enough information out there to show that they lacked any integrity...
Beth: And who, directly, do you want to hear from? Who do you think can answer those questions? Top official? Middle official? Clinton herself?
Kris: Clinton herself. Obama...Who knows if they'll tell the truth.
Beth: And I know that's become a personal mission on behalf of your fallen brothers.
Kris: They will always be memorialized. That's what I love about "13 Hours." This may not get real big. It shouldn't have done as well as "American Sniper."
Beth: It's ["13 Hours"] an intense movie, especially if you're not someone who follows politics. Everyone assumes that because we're in America that we're the land of the free and the home of the brave, that no one can turn against their own. I think that, as sad as it is to say, what happened to you guys [in Benghazi] is the epitome of government failure.
Kris: With "13 Hours" being out there, we'll always memorialize the guys. Now the question is, are we going to have political officials, the Comeys, the Brennans, the Hillary Clintons, go in there and try to cover it up?
Beth: Hopefully, we'll finally get some resolution out of this because it shouldn't take years and years
Kris: At least, again, there are people still asking the questions, and that's a good thing.
Beth: And then there are people like me who follow this and want to see something happen...I hope that, for your sake, we get some sort of resolution, before I have children.
Kris: I hope so too. The younger generation continues to ask questions and still want answers.
Paronto said he continues to talk about that tragic day in Benghazi because it's important to help memorialize his friends, but because it's also healing for him. Talking about losing his friends has been a way for him to deal with what took place on September 11, 2012.
He is now working on a new project called "War Heroes," a pro-military documentary that tells the real life stories of our men and women in uniform, both at home and abroad. Each episode of the series profiles one service member or veteran, detailing their unique lives, service, and sacrifice.