Chair of the newly formed Benghazi Select Committee Rep. Trey Gowdy (R., S.C.) accused the Obama administration of a "systematic effort" to hide documents from Congress Monday on Fox News.
Gowdy said certain unnamed witnesses have come forward and revealed the Obama administration sought to keep certain documents from Benghazi investigators, including the Accountability Review Board. "Does anyone really believe the ARB had access to all of the documents and all of the witnesses? I don't know anyone who believes that. So, necessarily, that undercuts whatever findings they may have found," he said.
To that point, Gowdy pointed out the ARB relied on summaries of the military's activity that night and never had an opportunity to interview former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton. Thus, Gowdy contended the ARB could not credibly conclude whether Clinton was aware of the threats facing the Benghazi mission.
The South Carolina Congressman also emphasized it will be critical for the committee to have complete and total access to all available documents, irrespective of whether the administration considers them relevant. "I want to see every single solitary relevant material document," he said. "In fact, I want it see everything for which there can be any argument that it is relevant and then we can judge whether or not it's material."
Gowdy concluded the Select Committee is especially appropriate because various documents revealed by different Congressional committees are scattered and need to be centralized in order to properly analyze them.