Even conservatives admit the Benghazi hearing was a win for Hillary Clinton
BY KIMBERLY TRUONG
After withstanding 11 grueling hours of questioning by the House Select Committee on Benghazi on her role in the 2012 attack on the U.S. Embassy there, Hillary Clinton is receiving extensive praise — including from some conservatives.
Reactions to the hearing range from commending Clinton’s poise to marveling at how she came out relatively unscathed. Albeit begrudgingly, those on the right, too, are admitting that Clinton came out on top.
In fact, many conservative figures joined in on the common refrain — Clinton showed resolve while Republicans on the panel were distracted, fighting with each other.
“In terms of the narrative on Benghazi, there was no major new development that rocked her side of the story, that changes this in some way,” said Ed Henry of Fox News. “What you have here is another big test for Hillary Clinton, and another big test that she appears to have passed.”
The Washington Examiner’s Byron York more or less agreed — “a hearing billed as an epic, High Noon-style confrontation,” he says, “instead turned out to be a somewhat interesting look at a few limited aspects of the Benghazi affair. In other words, no big deal. And that is very, very good news for Hillary Clinton.”
Ashe Schow, also of the Washington Examiner, chimed in with a piece for Observer News titled, “Sorry, Republicans, Clinton Won the Benghazi Hearing.”
“Republicans had one last great chance to get some answers from the former secretary of state, and they failed,” she wrote.
Several also lamented that the hearings were, as RedState’s Erick Erickson said, “a waste of time.”
“Most of the rest of the committee just wants to grandstand for the folks back home as either prosecutors of or defenders of Hillary Clinton,” he wrote. “Mrs. Clinton too is far too bright to be trapped in this or any questions.”
Even Rep. Trey Gowdy, chairman of the House Select Committee on Benghazi, acknowledged that the hearings yielded nothing new.
When asked by reporters what details emerged from the 11 hours of questioning, Gowdy said, “I think some of Jimmy Jordan’s questioning — well, when you say new today, we knew some of that already. We knew about the emails.”
“In terms of her testimony? I don’t know that she testified that much differently today than she has the previous time she testified.”
As for Clinton’s supporters, donor Pamela Eakes told the Associated Press: “We’re grateful to Republicans for giving her the best week ever.”
