Lost amid the recent stories about the GOP debate and Ted Cruz's eligibility to be president was a major Benghazi story. Evidence seems to building to confirm the accusation that troops were given an order to "stand down" and not help the Americans under attack on 9/11/12.
The Chairman of the House Select Committee on Benghazi, Rep. Trey Gowdy (R-SC), was interviewed by Boston Herald Radio on Wednesday and related that a number of witnesses testified that a stand-down order was given to military assets in proximity to Benghazi the night of the terrorist attack on 9/11/12. He also acknowledged that there were witnesses who denied a stand down order was given.
“You mentioned the stand-down order: there are witnesses who say there was one, there are witnesses who say there was not one.”
"The best I can do is tell you what the witnesses say, and then you can decide who you think is more credible. "
Gowdy said, "There were no assets that could have gotten there" in time to save Ambassador Chris Stevens and Sean Smith, two Benghazi victims who died of smoke inhalation earlier in the evening of Sept. 11, 2012. But, Gowdy "noted the question of whether assets could have arrived in time to save the other two victims, Glen Doherty and Tyrone Woods, was 'eminently fair.'" The other issue, which is just as important, he contends, is: if there were no assets in the region that could have arrived in time to save Doherty and Woods, "Why not?"
He added that the committee was meeting a short time after the interview to question Jeremy Bash, Chief of Staff at the U.S. Department of Defense, who, in 2012, wrote an email saying the night of the attack the military had forces "spinning" and prepared to head toward Benghazi as soon as the orders were approved. Gowdy pointed out that Mr. Bash had not been interviewed by any other committee and wondered how any committee could give an opinion one way or another about a stand down order without talking to Bash.
Gowdy's interview lasted 20 minutes, if you wish to listen to the Benghazi section, it begins at the 7:45 mark in the player below:
The Congressman's interview seemed to back up three members of the Benghazi Annex Security Team who appeared on the "Kelly File" earlier this month (see video below). They were on the program to discuss the movie "13 Hours," which told the story of the Benghazi attack.
The three heroes - Mark Geist, Kris Paronto and John Tiegen - talked about the movie and their own memories of that horrible night in Benghazi, the disputed order to stand down, and how investigators cherry-picked which parts of their testimony would be believed:
Tiegen told Megyn that he was surprised during the attack that they were given a "stand-down" order and offered no help, even after Amb. Chris Stevens had been missing for hours.
"13 hours. Nobody comes. That’s the big deal," Tanto added.
Megyn noted that Hillary Clinton and the White House have relied on Congressional investigations that concluded there was no "stand-down" order given at the annex.
Paronto said it's "just silly" and Tiegen pointed out that investigators believed everything else the men testified about.
"It's kind of funny. Everything we testified to, they agreed with us 100 percent. Pretty much from us eating a candy bar to shooting all our ammo, but for some reason they don't want to believe that we were told to stand down," said Tiegen.
In the end, the question of a stand down order has not been answered...yet. But, it can no longer be said that testimony proves none was given. As Rep. Gowdy indicates, it is now once again an open question and, once the committee's final report is presented, the American public will decide.