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Benghazi Witnesses Announced

Three State Department officials to testify about Benghazi attack

Charred vehicle at the entrance of the U.S. Conulate, in Benghazi, Libya / AP
May 4, 2013

Three senior State Department officials with intimate knowledge of the September 11, 2012 terrorist attacks in Benghazi, Libya will testify before Congress on Wednesday, the House Oversight Committee announced Saturday morning.

Lawmakers will likely press the officials to pinpoint the security failures that led to the deaths of four Americans, including U.S. Ambassador Christopher Stevens.

The three witnesses announced are: Mark Thompson, the State Department’s acting deputy assistant secretary for counterterrorism; Gregory Hicks, a foreign service officer who formerly served as the deputy chief of mission/charge d’affairs in Libya; and Eric Nordstrom, a diplomatic security officer who formerly served as the State Department’s Regional Security Officer in Libya.

Nordstrom revealed in October 2012 during a similar hearing that his superiors in the State Department stymied his efforts to boost security at the Benghazi compound in the months prior to the attack.

Rep. Darrell Issa (R., Calif.), the Oversight Committee’s chairman, praised the officials for coming forward to testify.

"I applaud these individuals for answering our call to testify in front of the Committee," Issa said in a statement Saturday. "They have critical information about what occurred before, during, and after the Benghazi terrorist attacks that differs on key points from what Administration officials—including those on the Accountability Review Board—have portrayed."

"Numerous other individuals" who have first-hand knowledge about the Benghazi attack have contacted the Oversight Committee and could come forward to testify in the near future, Issa revealed.

Anonymous whistleblowers have come forward in recent days to detail the Obama administration’s efforts to pressure them not to testify about the attacks.

"Our committee has been contacted by numerous other individuals who have direct knowledge of the Benghazi terrorist attack, but are not yet prepared to testify," Issa said.

"In many cases their principal reticence of appearing in public is their concern of retaliation at the hands of their respective employers," he said. "While we may yet add additional witnesses, this panel will certainly answer some questions and leave us with many new ones."