Rep. Adam Schiff, a Democratic member on the House Benghazi Select Committee, strongly criticized the committee's partisan focus and called out media myths about the September 2012 attacks and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.

In a September 4 New York Times op-ed headlined, “Disband the Benghazi Committee,” Schiff discussed the committee's recent focus on Clinton's State Department emails, writing that they “don't substantiate the bogus theory that the State Department ordered the military to 'stand down' or that there was gun running, or that the secretary somehow interfered with the security provided at the diplomatic facility or annex” at Benghazi.

Conservative media have repeatedly forwarded these false accusations regarding the Benghazi attacks despite voluminous evidence to the contrary.

Schiff, also the top Democrat on the House Intelligence Committee, wrote that none of the secretary's emails were “marked classified at the time she received them. Some in the intelligence community believe that a subset of them should have been, a conclusion with which the State Department disagrees.”

Media Matters has noted that media have repeatedly pushed the myth that Clinton received “top secret” classified emails, while downplaying the fact that the emails' retroactive classification status remains in dispute between government agencies -- a common occurrence.

Schiff concluded that Republicans have used the Benghazi committee “as a cudgel against the likely Democratic nominee for president.” A Media Matters study of Fox News' Benghazi obsession found that in the first 20 months following the attacks, the conservative network's evening lineup aired 105 segments attempting to link Benghazi to Hillary Clinton's potential presidential ambitions.

The California congressman has been skeptical of the Benghazi Select Committee since its formation. During a May 4, 2014, appearance on Fox News Sunday, for instance, Schiff said the committee's formation was “a colossal waste of time” and “taxpayer resources” since “we've had four bipartisan investigations of this already.”

From Rep. Schiff's op-ed:

Since its formation, the Select Committee on Benghazi has been aimless and slow moving, not knowing what it was looking for or where. It has acted in a deeply partisan way, frequently failing to consult or even to inform Democratic members before taking action, and selectively leaking information to the press. After 16 months and more than $4 million, the committee has gained no additional insight into the attacks in Benghazi. It has nothing new to tell the families of those killed or the American people.

But it does have emails. Lots of emails. Some of them are from former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton. But none of her emails tell us anything of consequence regarding the events of Sept. 11, 2012. They don't substantiate the bogus theory that the State Department ordered the military to “stand down” or that there was gun running, or that the secretary somehow interfered with the security provided at the diplomatic facility or annex.

Nor were any of the secretary's emails marked classified at the time she received them. Some in the intelligence community believe that a subset of them should have been, a conclusion with which the State Department disagrees. That's not an uncommon clash of views. As the ranking Democrat on the Intelligence Committee, I am deeply interested in making sure that all classified information is protected. And yet, as a member of the Select Committee charged with finding out the truth about the attacks, I am appalled at how much we have lost sight of the mission -- if indeed that was ever the point.

Whatever their original purpose, the Select Committee's leaders appear no longer to have any interest in Benghazi, except as the tragic events of that day may be used as a cudgel against the likely Democratic nominee for president.