Longtime Clinton aide Cheryl Mills reportedly reviewed and made suggestions to former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton’s official report on what happened in Benghazi.
Mills testified before the House Select Committee on Benghazi on Thursday when she disclosed the information, a GOP source told Politico. The admission “call[s] into question the ‘independence’” of the report, since Mills is a political aide to the Clinton family, not an intelligence official.
Former Hillary Rodham Clinton aide Cheryl Mills speaks to reporters on Capitol Hill in Washington, Thursday, Sept. 3, 2015, following her deposition before the panel investigating Benghazi. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh)
Mills previously served as deputy White House counsel, defending President Bill Clinton during his impeachment trial. She also helped other longtime Clinton aides comb through thousands of pages of Hillary Clinton’s emails from a private server to determine which ones they should turn over to the State Department, and which ones they should delete.
Mills told the committee in a closed-door session that she did not withhold any federal record documents from the government and doesn’t know of anyone who did. Mills also informed the panel that many within the State Department knew Hillary Clinton was using a personal email account to conduct business, the New York Times reported.
But Mills claimed she didn’t know why longtime Clinton aide Sidney Blumenthal, who was not allowed by the White House to work for the administration, sent the nation’s former top diplomat intelligence memos about Libya.
The testimony came just hours after another top Clinton aide, the family’s go-to IT staffer Bryan Pagliano, pleaded the Fifth Amendment, refusing to answer the committee’s questions. Members of the congressional committee had subpoenaed him to learn more details of the private server the Clinton’s had set up at their home in Chappaqua, New York.
Thursday’s hearing lasted eight hours and ended on a cordial note between Mills and Benghazi panel Chairman Trey Gowdy. Mills reportedly thanked the South Carolina Republican for his “professionalism,” his “respect” and “the work they’re doing.”
“Obviously, the tragedy that happened in Benghazi was about more than what’s happening in this room: It was about the loss of individuals who were dear to the State Department and dear to this country,” Mills said, according to Politico.
“And we honor them by remembering what happened and doing our best to ensure that that doesn’t happen again, so I’m grateful for the chance I had to visit with the committee today,” Mills added.
(H/T: Politico)
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