39–008 

113TH CONGRESS REPORT " ! HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 2d Session 113–442 

PROVIDING FOR THE ESTABLISHMENT OF THE SELECT 

COMMITTEE ON THE EVENTS SURROUNDING THE 2012 

TERRORIST ATTACK IN BENGHAZI 

MAY 7, 2014.— Referred to the House Calendar and ordered to be printed 

Mr. SESSIONS, from the Committee on Rules, 

submitted the following 

R E P O R T 

together with 

DISSENTING VIEWS 

[To accompany H. Res. 567] 

The Committee on Rules, to whom was referred the resolution 

(H. Res. 567) providing for the establishment of the Select Committee on the Events Surrounding the 2012 Terrorist Attack in 

Benghazi, having considered the same, report favorably thereon 

without amendment and recommend that the resolution be adopted. 

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Page 

Purpose and Summary ................................................................................... 2 

Background and Need for Legislation ........................................................... 2 

Hearings .......................................................................................................... 3 

Committee Consideration ............................................................................... 3 

Committee Votes ............................................................................................. 3 

Committee Oversight Findings and Recommendations ............................... 6 

Performance Goals and Objectives ................................................................ 6 

Advisory Committee Statement ..................................................................... 6 

Exchange of Committee Correspondence ...................................................... 7 

Section-by-Section Analysis of the Legislation ............................................. 9 

Changes in Existing House Rules Made by the Resolution, as Reported 10 

Appendix .......................................................................................................... 10 

Dissenting Views ............................................................................................ 12 


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PURPOSE AND SUMMARY

H. Res. 567 provides for the establishment of the Select Committee on the Events Surrounding the 2012 Terrorist Attack in 

Benghazi. The resolution provides that the Select Committee will 

have a clear mandate for a comprehensive investigation that is not 

limited by jurisdictional lines. The resolution also authorizes the 

chair of the Select Committee to issue subpoenas and order depositions, ensures the Select Committee and its staff will have appropriate access to classified material, and requires the Select Committee to report to the full House on its findings and recommendations. 

BACKGROUND AND NEED FOR LEGISLATION

After the terrorist attack on United States facilities in Benghazi, 

Libya, on September 11, 2012, the Committee on Rules believed the 

most prudent course of action was to utilize the full weight of Congressional oversight by using existing committees. The standing 

committees in the House of Representatives have resources and expertise that can be quickly tapped, which has led to important and 

significant work on the Benghazi investigation. In particular, the 

Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, the Committee 

on Armed Services, the Committee on Foreign Affairs, and the Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence have dedicated themselves to finding answers for the families of the four Americans 

killed during the attack. 

One issue that the Rules Committee highlighted early in the 

process of this investigation was the need for enhanced coordination between committees. The Rules Committee has worked directly with committees to ensure an unsurpassed level of coordination. In August of 2013, the chair of the Committee on Rules received status reports from the relevant committees to ensure that 

they had every tool at their disposal as they continued to work 

through their investigation. After receiving updates from the committees of jurisdiction, the Committee continued to believe that the 

existing committee structure was best prepared to conduct the investigation. 

While a select committee can be very useful in bringing enhanced 

public scrutiny to a situation, there are some drawbacks. Most notably, select committees take time to get up and running—Members have to be appointed, staff needs to be hired, and suitable 

space to handle classified information must be acquired. However, 

the Committee on Rules has always been open to the establishment 

of a select committee if it became apparent that a select committee 

was necessary. That time has come. 

House committees have worked diligently to find out what happened on the ground in Benghazi on September 11, 2012, and 

equally important, what didn’t happen. Unfortunately, committees 

have had to pursue this investigation with an unwilling partner in 

the Obama Administration. 

While many documents have been provided to committees, it has 

taken far too long. On August 1, 2013, Chairman Darrell Issa 

issued a subpoena for records previously made available for in camera review in response to repeated committee requests for documents. Nearly one year later, the State Department continues to 


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produce documents related to that subpoena. In short, there are 

still documents covered by the August 1, 2013 subpoena that have 

not been turned over. For example, the Department has applied additional, unilateral redactions to both classified and unclassified 

documents that were previously made available for in camera review. 

On April 17, 2014, an additional 276 documents, consisting of 

779 pages were delivered to the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform—many of which were heavily redacted. This is the 

same day that the State Department complied with a Freedom of 

Information Act (FOIA) request submitted by Judicial Watch. The 

Committee believes that the timing of the two productions was deliberately coordinated and questions if Congress would have received these documents absent the FOIA request from Judicial 

Watch. Furthermore, the Committee on Oversight and Government 

Reform has informed the Committee on Rules that the versions of 

these documents provided to the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform are in some cases more redacted than those provided to Judicial Watch. The so-called ‘‘Ben Rhodes’’ email was 

turned over as part of this document production. However, it took 

the State Department more than a year and a half after the attacks in Benghazi to turn over a document that they themselves 

describe as ‘‘in connection with the Committee’s investigation in to 

the attacks on the U.S. Special Mission in Benghazi.’’ 

The actions by the executive branch in the wake of the Benghazi 

terrorist attack on United States facilities have now expanded the 

scope of the congressional investigation that must occur. In addition to getting answers about what happened in Benghazi on September 11, 2012 and the Administration’s response to the attack, 

Congress must review how the Administration has responded to 

congressional inquiries, subpoenas, and requests for information. 

Congress must also look at the checks and balances between the 

legislative and executive branches that our Founding Fathers envisioned. The House of Representatives is the People’s House, and as 

such, should never be circumvented by any Administration. While 

FOIA is a powerful tool for transparency, an Administration should 

feel equally responsible to comply with a congressional investigation. A select committee will take time before it can open its doors, 

but it is now clear that we need to raise the level of public attention on the terrorist attack in Benghazi, Libya, on September 11, 

2012 and the Administration’s response to Congress. 

HEARINGS

The Committee on Rules did not hold hearings on this measure. 

COMMITTEE CONSIDERATION

The Committee on Rules met on May 7, 2014 in open session and 

ordered H. Res. 567 favorably reported to the House by a record 

vote of 7 yeas and 4 nays, a quorum being present. 

COMMITTEE VOTES

Clause 3(b) of rule XIII of the Rules of the House of Representatives requires the Committee to list the record votes on the motion 

to report legislation and amendments thereto. A motion by Ms. 


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Foxx to report the bill to the House with a favorable recommendation was agreed to by a record vote of 7 yeas and 4 nays, a quorum 

being present. The names of Members voting for and against follow: 

ROLL CALL NO. 132

H. RES. 567 (ORIGINAL JURISDICTION)

Date: May 07, 2014. 

Motion by Ms. Foxx to report the resolution to the House with 

a favorable recommendation. 

Adopted: 7 yeas and 4 nays. 

Representative Yea Nay Representative Yea Nay 

Ms. Foxx, Vice Chairman .................... X Ms. Slaughter, Ranking Member ........ X 

Mr. Bishop of Utah ............................. Mr. McGovern ...................................... X 

Mr. Cole ............................................... X Mr. Hastings of Florida ...................... X 

Mr. Woodall ......................................... X Mr. Polis .............................................. X 

Mr. Nugent ..........................................

Mr. Webster of Florida ........................ X 

Ms. Ros-Lehtinen ................................ X 

Mr. Burgess ......................................... X 

Mr. Sessions, Chairman ...................... X 

Vote Total: 7 4 

The committee also considered the following amendments on 

which record votes were requested. The names of Members voting 

for and against follow: 


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ROLL CALL NO. 130

H. RES. 567 (ORIGINAL JURISDICTION)

Date: May 07, 2014. 

Amendment offered by Ms. Slaughter makes membership on the 

Committee equally divided between Republicans and Democrats; 

guarantees minority sign-off on subpoenas and depositions; guarantees equal distribution of money, staffing, and other resources of 

the Committee; requires the Committee to establish written rules, 

specifically including rules concerning how documents and other information may be obtained, used, or released; guarantees equal access to evidence and materials of the Committee; provides for 

transparency of the Committee’s expenditures and budgeting; ensures that a quorum for taking testimony or receiving evidence includes at least one minority Member; and, finally, ensures that the 

minority has a say in decisions about extended questioning and 

staff questioning of witnesses. 

Not Agreed to: 4 yeas and 7 nays. 

Representative Yea Nay Representative Yea Nay 

Ms. Foxx, Vice Chairman .................... X Ms. Slaughter, Ranking Member ........ X 

Mr. Bishop of Utah ............................. Mr. McGovern ...................................... X 

Mr. Cole ............................................... X Mr. Hastings of Florida ...................... X 

Mr. Woodall ......................................... X Mr. Polis .............................................. X 

Mr. Nugent ..........................................

Mr. Webster of Florida ........................ X 

Ms. Ros-Lehtinen ................................ X 

Mr. Burgess ......................................... X 

Mr. Sessions, Chairman ...................... X 

Vote Total: 4 7 

ROLL CALL NO. 131

H. RES. 567 (ORIGINAL JURISDICTION)

Date: May 07, 2014. 

Amendment offered by Mr. Polis amends the resolution to provide for separate consideration of H.R. 15. 

Not Agreed to: 5 yeas and 6 nays. 

Representative Yea Nay Representative Yea Nay 

Ms. Foxx, Vice Chairman .................... X Ms. Slaughter, Ranking Member ........ X 

Mr. Bishop of Utah ............................. Mr. McGovern ...................................... X 

Mr. Cole ............................................... X Mr. Hastings of Florida ...................... X 

Mr. Woodall ......................................... X Mr. Polis .............................................. X 

Mr. Nugent ..........................................

Mr. Webster of Florida ........................ X 

Ms. Ros-Lehtinen ................................ X 

Mr. Burgess ......................................... X 

Mr. Sessions, Chairman ...................... X 

Vote Total: 5 6 


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COMMITTEE OVERSIGHT FINDINGS AND RECOMMENDATIONS

Pursuant to clause 3(c)(1) of rule XIII of the Rules of the House 

of Representatives, the Committee made findings and recommendations that are reflected in this report. 

PERFORMANCE GOALS AND OBJECTIVES

Pursuant to clause 3(c)(4) of rule XIII of the Rules of the House 

of Representatives, the Committee establishes the following performance related goals and objectives for this legislation: 

The resolution will ensure that Congress is most appropriately 

structured to conduct effective oversight of the events surrounding 

the terrorist attack in Benghazi, Libya, on September 11, 2012 and 

ensure that the executive branch complies with requests for information related to this investigation and future oversight requests 

from Congress. 

ADVISORY COMMITTEE STATEMENT

No advisory committees within the meaning of section 5(b) of the 

Federal Advisory Committee Act were created by this legislation. 


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SECTION-BY-SECTION ANALYSIS OF THE LEGISLATION

Section 1. Establishment. 

This section provides for the establishment of the Select Committee. 

Section 2. Composition. 

This section provides that the Speaker will appoint 12 Members 

to the Select Committee, five of whom will be appointed after consultation with the minority leader, that the Speaker will appoint 

the chair of the Select Committee, and that any vacancies are to 

be filled in the same manner as the original appointment. 

Section 3. Investigation and Report on the Events Surrounding the 

2012 Terrorist Attack in Benghazi. 

This section establishes the scope of the Select Committee’s investigation and provides that the Select Committee must report its 

findings to the House. This section also provides that the Select 

Committee may issue interim reports and that any report issued 

by the Select Committee may contain a classified annex. 

The scope of the Select Committee’s investigation includes, but is 

not limited to: security decisions and military posture prior to the 

attack, the terrorist attack that occurred in Benghazi on September 

11, 2012, the Executive Branch’s response to the attack, the Executive Branch’s efforts to identify and bring to justice the perpetrators of the attack on U.S. facilities in Benghazi, Libya on September 11, 2012, the Executive Branch’s response to congressional 

inquiries and subpoenas, recommendations for improving executive 

branch cooperation and compliance with congressional oversight, 

and lessons learned from the attacks and efforts to protect United 

States facilities and personnel abroad. 

Section 4. Procedure. 

Subsection (a) authorizes the Select Committee to study sources 

and methods of entities related to the scope of the investigation 

provided for in section 3. The covered entities are limited to the 

Central Intelligence Agency, the Director of National Intelligence, 

and the National Intelligence Program as defined in section 3(6) of 

the National Security Act of 1947. 

Subsection (b) provides the Select Committee with access to classified information and provides that the Select Committee, including all staff and contractors, must properly handle classified information to prevent unauthorized disclosures. 

Subsection (c) establishes how certain provisions of House rule 

XI (relating to the procedure of committees) will apply to the Select 

Committee. Specifically, the Rules Committee intends that section 

4 of the resolution, in conjunction with the standing rules of the 

House, shall comprise the Select Committee’s rules and the adoption of separate written rules is not necessary. However, nothing 

in the resolution prohibits the Select Committee, should it deem it 

necessary, from adopting additional rules not inconsistent with the 

provisions of H. Res. 567. This subsection provides the chair of the 

Select Committee with subpoena and deposition authority consistent with the authorities provided to the chair of the Committee 


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on Oversight and Government Reform. This subsection also provides that the Select Committee must use the same procedures to 

close a hearing as is required of the Permanent Select Committee 

on Intelligence. Finally, this subsection establishes quorums for 

certain orders of business and provides that the chair may recognize Members to question witnesses for longer than five minutes 

and recognize committee staff to question a witness. 

Section 5. Records; Staff; Funding. 

This section provides that any committee of the House of Representatives having custody of records in any form relating to the 

matters described in section 3 must transfer such records to the Select Committee within 14 days of the adoption of this resolution. 

Such records shall become the records of the Select Committee. 

This section also authorizes committee funding and staff for the Select Committee. 

Section 6. Dissolution and Disposition of Records. 

This section provides that the Select Committee will cease to 

exist 30 days after filing its final report and that the Speaker will 

designate which committee(s) will take possession of Select Committee’s records. 

CHANGES IN EXISTING HOUSE RULES MADE BY THE RESOLUTION, AS

REPORTED

In compliance with clause 3(g) of rule XIII of the Rules of the 

House of Representatives, the Committee finds that H. Res. 567 

does not propose to repeal or amend a standing rule of the House. 

APPENDIX: DEPOSITION PROCEDURES

The deposition procedures described in section 4(c)(5)(B) of the 

resolution are reprinted below for the convenience of the reader. 

The procedures will also be printed in the Congressional Record as 

required by the resolution. 

(a) Notice for the taking of depositions shall specify the date, time, and place of 

examination (if other than within the committee offices). Depositions shall be taken 

under oath administered by a member or a person otherwise authorized to administer oaths. 

(b) Consultation with the ranking minority member shall include three business 

days’ notice before any deposition is taken. All members of the Select Committee 

shall also receive three business days notice that a deposition has been scheduled. 

(c) Witnesses may be accompanied at a deposition by counsel to advise them of 

their rights. No one may be present at depositions except members, committee staff 

designated by the chair or ranking minority member, an official reporter, the witness, and the witness’s counsel. Observers or counsel for other persons, or for agencies under investigation, may not attend. 

(d) At least one member of the committee shall be present at each deposition 

taken by the committee, unless the witness to be deposed agrees in writing to waive 

this requirement. 

(e) A deposition shall be conducted by any member or staff attorney designated 

by the chair or ranking minority member. When depositions are conducted by committee staff attorneys, there shall be no more than two committee staff attorneys 

permitted to question a witness per round. One of the committee staff attorneys 

shall be designated by the chair and the other by the ranking minority member. 

Other committee staff members designated by the chair or ranking minority member may attend, but may not pose questions to the witness. 

(f) Questions in the deposition shall be propounded in rounds, alternating between 

the majority and minority. A single round shall not exceed 60 minutes per side, unless the members or staff attorneys conducting the deposition agree to a different 


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length of questioning. In each round, a member or committee staff attorney designated by the chair shall ask questions first, and the member or committee staff 

attorney designated by the ranking minority member shall ask questions second. 

(g) Any objection made during a deposition must be stated concisely and in a nonargumentative and non-suggestive manner. The witness may refuse to answer a 

question only to preserve a privilege. When the witness has objected and refused 

to answer a question to preserve a privilege, the chair of the Select Committee may 

rule on any such objection after the deposition has adjourned. If the chair overrules 

any such objection and thereby orders a witness to answer any question to which 

a privilege objection was lodged, such ruling shall be filed with the clerk of the committee and shall be provided to the members and the witness no less than three 

days before the reconvened deposition. If a member of the committee appeals in 

writing the ruling of the chair, the appeal shall be preserved for committee consideration. A deponent who refuses to answer a question after being directed to answer 

by the chair in writing may be subject to sanction, except that no sanctions may 

be imposed if the ruling of the chair is reversed on appeal. 

(h) Committee staff shall ensure that the testimony is either transcribed or electronically recorded or both. If a witness’s testimony is transcribed, the witness or 

the witness’s counsel shall be afforded an opportunity to review a copy. No later 

than five days thereafter, the witness may submit suggested changes to the chair. 

Committee staff may make any typographical and technical changes. Substantive 

changes, modifications, clarifications, or amendments to the deposition transcript 

submitted by the witness must be accompanied by a letter signed by the witness 

requesting the changes and a statement of the witness’s reasons for each proposed 

change. Any substantive changes, modifications, clarifications, or amendments shall 

be included as an appendix to the transcript conditioned upon the witness signing 

the transcript. 

(i) The individual administering the oath, if other than a member, shall certify 

on the transcript that the witness was duly sworn. The transcriber shall certify that 

the transcript is a true record of the testimony, and the transcript shall be filed, 

together with any electronic recording, with the clerk of the Select Committee in 

Washington, DC. Depositions shall be considered to have been taken in Washington, 

DC, as well as the location actually taken once filed there with the clerk of the Select Committee for the Select Committee’s use. The chair and the ranking minority 

member shall be provided with a copy of the transcripts of the deposition at the 

same time. 

(j) The chair and ranking minority member shall consult regarding the release of 

depositions. If either objects in writing to a proposed release of a deposition or a 

portion thereof, the matter shall be promptly referred to the Select Committee for 

resolution. 

(k) A witness shall not be required to testify unless the witness has been provided 

with a copy of rule XI of the Rules of the House of Representatives and these procedures. 


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DISSENTING VIEWS 

The 2012 attack in Benghazi was a tragedy that took the lives 

of brave American public servants representing and serving our 

country. We join their families in continuing to mourn their loss. 

Congress has an obligation—both to the families of the victims and 

to the country—to take every possible step to prevent anything like 

this from ever happening again. 

The United States Senate has produced two bi-partisan reports 

on the issue and the State Department’s Accountability Review 

Board has also produced a constructive, unbiased report. Unfortunately, the House Majority has chosen a different path, with an entirely partisan approach. 

Over nearly two years and across four separate standing committees of the House, the majority has repeatedly demonstrated that 

rather than engaging in serious, objective examination of the circumstances of the Benghazi attacks, rather than producing constructive recommendations to keep our citizens and facilities 

abroad safe, they intend to use this tragedy as an excuse for generating partisan talking points. 

Between the eight separate reports on Benghazi to date, millions 

of dollars of taxpayer money have been spent, dozens of interviews 

have been conducted and 13 hearings have been held. More than 

25,000 pages of documents have been produced. There is a vast 

body of evidence already collected, none of it demonstrating that 

the Obama Administration engaged in any sort of cover-up as the 

majority continues to allege. 

The reports issued by House committees have been highly partisan, as were the investigations on which they were based. Democratic Members were excluded from fact-finding delegations. The 

minority was denied access to hearing witnesses. Documents obtained by a committee were withheld from minority Members. 

These are only some of the abuses committed in the course of these 

investigations. Press reports even indicate that the National Republican Congressional Committee—the House Republicans’ campaign arm—is explicitly raising campaign money off of the tragedy 

in Benghazi. 

Now, after nearly two years of the majority engaging in thoroughly partisan exercises on this subject, they are proposing to create an extraordinary select committee, with the same partisan 

makeup and rules—to conduct yet another investigation. 

Given the majority’s history of unprecedented partisanship with 

regard to this matter, there is no reason to believe that the new 

select committee will produce a different result. 

The only way this select committee could be effective is if it were 

completely bipartisan by the terms of the resolution creating it. We 

offered an amendment to make a number of changes to the structure and rules of the committee. Most importantly, our amendment 


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would have made membership on the committee equally divided between Republicans and Democrats, like the Ethics Committee and 

like some past select committees. Our amendment would have 

guaranteed minority concurrence for authorization of subpoenas 

and equal distribution of money, staffing, and other committee resources. 

Unfortunately, our amendment was rejected on a party-line vote. 

Accordingly, we must oppose this resolution and the creation of this 

select committee. There is potential for a House select committee 

to investigate the tragedy in Benghazi in such a way as to finally 

produce a thoughtful, useful report on the subject, in stark contrast 

to the investigations and reports issued by four House committees 

thus far. But this select committee is doomed by the terms of this 

resolution to instead be more of the same. 

LOUISE M. SLAUGHTER. 

JAMES P. MCGOVERN. 

ALCEE L. HASTINGS. 

JARED POLIS. 

Æ 


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