Via a Freedom of Information act lawsuit, Judicial Watch has obtained internal State Department emails proving that Hillary Clinton's top advisors knew the 9/11/12 Benghazi attack was probably a result of terrorist action. Not one of the emails blamed the attack on a spontaneous demonstration sparked by a video trashing the Muslim prophet Muhammad.
The emails give a picture of the attack from start to finish, discussed here are the most important communications.
"On September 11, 2012, at 4:07 PM, Maria Sand (who was then a Special Assistant to Mrs. Clinton) forwarded an email from the State Department’s Operations Center entitled “U.S. Diplomatic Mission in Benghazi is Under Attack (SBU) [Sensitive But Unclassified]” to Cheryl Mills (then-Chief of Staff), Jacob Sullivan (then-Deputy Chief of Staff for Policy), Joseph McManus (then-Hillary Clinton’s Executive Assistant), and a list of other Special Assistants in the Secretary’s office:"
The Regional Security Officer reports the diplomatic mission is under attack. Tripoli reports approximately 20 armed people fired shots; explosions have been heard as well. Ambassador Stevens, who is currently in Benghazi, and four COM [Chief of Mission] personnel are in the compound safe haven. The 17th of February militia is providing security support.
A half-hour later at 4:38 PM, State Department Foreign Service Officer Lawrence Randolph forwarded the same three senior Clinton aides (Mills, Sullivan and McManus) an email from Scott Bultrowicz, who at the time was the director of the Diplomatic Security Service (he was fired after the attack) the subject line of the email was, “Attack on Benghazi 09112012”:
DSCC received a phone call from [REDACTED] in Benghazi, Libya initially stating that 15 armed individuals were attacking the compound and trying to gain entrance. The Ambassador is present in Benghazi and currently is barricaded within the compound. There are no injuries at this time and it is unknown what the intent of the attackers is. At approximately 1600 DSCC received word from Benghazi that individuals had entered the compound. At 1614 RSO advised the Libyans had set fire to various buildings in the area, possibly the building that houses the Ambassador [REDACTED] is responding and taking fire.
Another email at 6:06 PM revealed that a terrorist group took credit for the attack:
(Subject: “Update 2: Ansar al-Sharia Claims Responsibility for Benghazi Attack (SBU): “(SBU) Embassy Tripoli reports the group claimed responsibility on Facebook and Twitter and call for an attack on Embassy Tripoli”
Some time between the 6:06 announcement about Ansar al-Sharia taking responsibility and 10:32 PM, Ms. Clinton must have been visited by the proverbial "little birdy" who tells her to ignore everything she has been told about the attack because, out of the blue, with no further emails, she issues an official statement about the death of one Benghazi Mission employee [Sean Smith], which was posted by MSNBC at 10:32 PM. The statement also mentions the information not seen in any other document, a claim the attack may have been in “a response to inflammatory material posted on the Internet.
Clinton: Some have sought to justify this vicious behavior as a response to inflammatory material posted on the Internet. The United States deplores any intentional effort to denigrate the religious beliefs of others. Our commitment to religious tolerance goes back to the very beginning of our nation. But let me be clear: There is never any justification for violent acts of this kind.
Just after midnight, Foreign Service Officer Randolph sent an email with the subject line “FW: Update 3: Benghazi Shelter Location Also Under Attack” [CIA Annex] to Mills, Sullivan, and McManus that has several updates about the Benghazi attack:
I just called Ops and they said the DS command center is reporting that the compound is under attack again. I am about to reach out to the DS Command Center.
Seven hours into the attack, there is still no mention of a video or a spontaneous demonstration except for the Clinton statement - the only documented rationale for the attack was the Ansar al-Sharia statement of responsibility.
A 3:22 AM, came an email with the subject line "Death of Ambassador Stevens confirmed:"
Embassy Tripoli confirms the death of Ambassador John C. (Chris) Stevens in Benghazi. His body has been recovered and is at the airport in Benghazi.
The lack of the relationship between the attack and any online video as demonstrated by these (and other) emails published by Judicial Watch are substantiated by testimony from others who were involved the night of the attack.
In May 2014 at a House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform hearing, Ret. Air Force Brigadier General Robert Lovell, former US Africom Intelligence Director, testified that almost immediately they knew Benghazi was a terrorist attack:
Nor did we completely understand what we had in front of us, be it kidnapping, rescue, recovery, protracted hostile engagement, or any or all the above. But, what we did know quite early on was that this was a hostile action. This was not demonstration gone terrible awry. To the point of what happened, the facts led to the conclusion of a terrorist attack. The Africom J2 was focused on attribution. The attacks became attributable very soon after the event.
Then-Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta’s testimony before the Senate Armed Services Committee in February 2013 also corroborated the Judicial Watch revelations. "Panetta told the Committee that it was he who informed the President 'there was an apparent attack going on in Benghazi.' 'Secretary Panetta, do you believe that unequivocally at that time we knew that this was a terrorist attack?' asked Sen. Jim Inhofe, (R-OK). 'There was no question in my mind that this was a terrorist attack,' Panetta replied."
Perhaps because of this new evidence released by Judicial Watch on Thursday, when Ms. Clinton testifies before the House Select Committee on Benghazi, instead of the former Secretary of State asking, "What difference does it make?" the most most memorable question will be, "Why were the American people lied to?" and will be asked by a member of the committee.