Host of NBC's Meet the Press David Gregory expressed confusion at the White House's decision to withhold Ben Rhodes's Benghazi prep email Thursday on Andrea Mitchell Reports.
The watchdog organization Judicial Watch had to sue the Obama administration for the email. The administration previously claimed they had released all emails relevant to Benghazi.
"The first two of the four goals [in the email are] about Benghazi, I don’t see why you wouldn’t have released this. It's clear from the promos of the programs, including Meet the Press, we were going to talk to Susan Rice about Benghazi. It seems odd they wouldn't have released this. There is this conflict between the intelligence community saying a spontaneous attack and what they are saying here, it was rooted in an internet video. Was that a leap too far?" Gregory asked. "But clearly the talking points indicated that the video was involved, there was a some kind of spontaneous action. So there's some conflict here obviously in how the administration was discussing all of this."
Gregory also noted former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton will have to face questions regarding the administration's decision to implement a "light footprint" strategy in Benghazi and the resulting catastrophic aftermath. "When things go sideways and become chaotic, was the policy wrong to have such a light footprint? That's ultimately the step-back question."