Trey Gowdy, chairman of the Benghazi Committee, has been sued by Air Force Reserve Maj. Brad Podliska, ex-GOP House Benghazi Committee investigator. In the suit, filed Monday, Podliska accuses the committee and Gowdy of wrongful termination and defamation.
"Chairman Gowdy, personally and through his agents, tied these defamatory statements to Podliska's firing to damage Podliska's reputation and his ability to seek or secure employment in his chosen field, depriving Podliska of his rights under the Constitution," the suit says, also stating that apart from Podliska, three additional staffers were checked for potentially mishandling classified information but were never punished. "Ultimately, Plaintiff was the only one of the four accused of the trumped-up security violation to be reprimanded by the Majority Staff or subjected to any adverse employment action," the filing reads, according to Politico.
"Chairman Gowdy knew that the public statements he made to the media, including the allegation that Plaintiff mishandled classified information, were false, or he was reckless in disregard to the truth or falsity of those statements," said the suit filed by Podliska, who has denied mishandling classified information and has claimed that Gowdy's statements were false and defamatory, reports The Wall Street Journal.
Podliska's complaints have been called "meritless," by Jamal Ware, a spokesman for the committee, who further said that "[t]he committee did not and does not discriminate or retaliate based on military service, military status or any other unlawful factor," reports MSNBC.
"I knew that we needed to get the truth to the victims' families. And the victims' families, they deserve the truth - whether or not Hillary Clinton was involved, whether or not other individuals were involved. The victims' families are not going to get the truth, and that's the most unfortunate thing about this," Podliska said earlier in the year, reports the Wall Street Journal.
The committee last met in October when Clinton testified before it about the 2012 attack.
