John Kerry Pits GOP Against GOP On Benghazi

[alp227]

As TPM reports:

On Friday, Kerry leaked that he has agreed to testify before Issa's committee on June 12 or 20. Issa, who is said to have opposed the creation of the select committee, issued a subpoena on May 2 for Kerry to testify -- the same day Boehner announced the new probe. But there's a catch: it means Kerry doesn't intend to testify again before Gowdy's committee.

"We believe the Secretary's appearance before Oversight will eliminate any need to appear for a second time before the Select Committee," a State Department official, who wasn't authorized to disclose the secretary's intentions on the record, told TPM.

There's a clever, mischievous logic to Kerry's move.

Kerry and Issa are, for very different reasons, invested in the failure of the new select committee. Kerry's reasons are clear: he wants to protect the State Department's credibility and shield his party's leaders from unfair attacks. Issa's reasons are more complicated: if the new committee uncovers damning evidence of a cover-up or succeeds at embarrassing the White House, it would cast doubt on Issa's capabilities, given the numerous hearings he has conducted since the Sept. 2012 tragedy with little to show for it substantively or politically.

[Scurrilous]

1. K & R

[riqster]

2. Boink.

[Fred Sanders]

3. Issa was jobbed with the task of keeping the fevered idiots of the tea party frothing at the mouth,

he must be upset that he delivered on that promise, and now is being cast aside by his own party in favor of another method of keeping the teapots on the boil.

There is no fury greater than a teabagger corrupt politician scorned....something like that.

[MBS]

4. Charles Pierce also takes this on:

http://www.esquire.com/blogs/politics/john-kerry-benghazi-testimony-052714

Article is titled, "John Kerry Trolls the House" : )
Excerpts:

It seems that there is a bit of a slapfight erupting in the Benghazi sandbox among the angry children of the House of Representatives. John Kerry, who is not at all as dumb as the people seeking his testimony in relation to the ongoing nothingburger, has decided to middle the whole muddle, which has the children calling, "No fair!" and pounding their fists on the asphalt of the playground.
(quoting a New York times article-link given in Pierce's piece)

In a letter to Representative Darrell Issa, Republican of California, the committee's combative chairman, the State Department's assistant secretary for legislative affairs, Julia Frifield, appeared to go out of her way to pit Mr. Issa's investigation into the attacks against a new one being conducted by a select committee appointed by Speaker John A. Boehner. Ms. Frifield said that Mr. Kerry would testify in June, but that in complying with Mr. Issa's demands, "we believe this would remove any need for the secretary to appear before the select committee" on the Benghazi attacks, which killed four Americans, including J. Christopher Stevens, the ambassador to Libya.

. . .
The whole thing is a farce, albeit a farce disgracefully being flogged for its politics with the bodies of four brave Americans. This is Kerry's very polite way of pointing out what a farce it is. I'll talk to him, the crazy felon guy, but not to him, the Cackalacky rube with the fratboy name and the Conehead haircut.
. . .

Ms. Frifield declined to make Mr. Kerry available next Thursday, the day the chairman had demanded. "He will be fully occupied with critical diplomatic engagements following the May 25 presidential election in Ukraine," she wrote, offering June 12 or June 20. "He will also be engaged in important bilateral and multilateral meetings in preparation for overseas travel." She added that testimony by Mr. Kerry should negate any need to send him before the Gowdy committee.

It's important to remember that Kerry was not Secretary Of State when the attacks on Benghazi occurred and, therefore, what he might have to add to the collective congressional delusion on the topic. But that's the way the summer's going to go, I guess. You can hardly blame Kerry for having a little fun with it. I hope he can steer clear of the shrapnel when the Play-Doh really starts to fly.

[Gothmog]

5. This is a great idea

I love this tactic