Republican South Carolina Rep. Trey Gowdy said Wednesday that the House Select Committee on Benghazi has heard from witnesses who say stand-down orders were given to military assets as the Sept. 11, 2012 terrorist attacks on the American diplomatic compound took place.
However, Gowdy, who chairs the committee, quickly added they have also heard from witnesses who say that orders were not issued. "There are witnesses who say there was one, there are witnesses who say there was not one," Gowdy said during an interview with Boston Herald Radio.
The question of whether or not there were stand-down orders given to U.S. security forces has become a major source of contention in the committee's investigation into the Benghazi terrorist attacks, which left four Americans dead, including Ambassador Chris Stevens. The White House, State Department and CIA have all stated there was no order given, including one from then-secretary of state Hillary Clinton, who, during a marathon testimony in October, said "of course" she gave no such order, the Associated Press reported.
"The best I can do is tell you what the witnesses say, and then you can decide who you think is more credible," Gowdy said during Wednesday's interview.
Gowdy's comments come ahead of the release of "13 Hours: The Secret Soldiers of Benghazi," which will be released on Friday. It's a film so politically charged, according to Politico, that it is certain to stir the controversy further. The film is based on the book, "13 Hours: The Inside Account of What Really Happened in Benghazi," written by Mitchell Zuckoff and members of the security team that fought off the attackers. Three of the co-authors have given multiple media interviews saying they were delayed by 30 minutes in responding to the Benghazi attacks after being told to stand down.
In his interview, Gowdy said "there were no assets that could have gotten there" in time to save Ambassador Chris Stevens and Sean Smith, two of the victims who died of smoke inhalation. But he said that "the second attack, the one where we lost Glen Doherty and Ty Woods," the two CIA specialists killed in a later attack, "is an eminently fair question," the Washington Examiner reported.
