Media Matters Calls On Benghazi Committee To Review Facts Before Meeting With Clinton's Former State Department Aides

Media Matters President Bradley Beychok has sent a letter to members of the House Select Committee on Benghazi asking them to review the facts about the tragedy -- before meeting this week with two former State Department staffers -- to halt rather than perpetuate the lies and misinformation that have encircled the Benghazi attacks. Included with the letter was a copy of The Benghazi Hoax, Media Matters' e-book chronicling the many right-wing lies surrounding the Benghazi attacks.

Here is the full letter:

Dear Committee Member:

During the three years since the attack on the U.S. diplomatic facilities in Benghazi, Libya, conservative media have relentlessly advanced a series of alleged hoaxes implicating the Obama administration, and some members of Congress have used their power to create the appearance of a scandal surrounding the U.S. response to the tragedy.

It has come to our attention that later this week, two of former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton's longtime associates, Cheryl Mills and Jake Sullivan, may meet with members of the House Select Committee on Benghazi. In light of this, Media Matters for America would like to make sure you have the relevant facts beforehand, so those discussions can be truth-based and productive.

Attached is our e-book, The Benghazi Hoax, which is a comprehensive guide to the most commonly repeated smears, lies, and already-answered questions about the attacks on the U.S. diplomatic facilities in Benghazi and the administration's response. After reading it, we hope we can count on you to refute, rather than reaffirm, the distortions that Fox News and other right-wing media have been disseminating for three years.

A Media Matters study showed that Fox News aired more than 1,000 segments between the September, 2012 attack and the May, 2014 formation of the Committee, in a futile effort to create a political controversy out of thin air. Indeed, the formation of the Committee on which you honorably serve was demanded by the network. And yet, at least 32 congressional hearings by 10 separate committees have failed to find any evidence of wrongdoing by President Obama or members of his administration, including Hillary Clinton.

In light of the history of misinformation that has so badly clouded the truth about this matter, and the total absence of wrongdoing that official inquiries have found, we respectfully request that you review the facts before this week's meetings, and then decide to help put an end to the corrosive culture of lies.

Sincerely,

Bradley Beychok
President, Media Matters For America