House Oversight and Government Reform Committee Chairman Darrell Issa (R., Calif.) issued two subpoenas to the State Department Thursday for documents relevant to the committee’s investigation into the terrorist attacks in Benghazi, Libya, which cost four American lives.
The documents will help congressional investigators understand how the Accountability Review Board (ARB) conducted its review of the attacks and how it obtained witness testimonies, according to a press release:
Witnesses interviewed by the Committee have testified that the ARB never asked them about the very issues that the ARB eventually cited as cause to hold four State Department officials accountable for the inadequate security posture in Benghazi. Those four officials were subsequently placed on paid administrative leave based on the ARB's recommendation.
The subpoenas require the State Department to hand over documents used to examine the facts and circumstances surrounding the attacks as well as documents and communication relating to the interviews ARB conducted.
Additionally, it calls for documents referenced in a March 29, 2013, letter from Acting Assistant Secretary Thomas B. Gibbons to House Oversight and Government Reform Committee Chairman Darrell Issa to be made available for private review.