Subject: Correct The Record Tuesday August 5, 2014 Afternoon Roundup
From: Burns Strider <[email-masked]>
To: CTRFriendsFamily <[email-masked]>
Date: Tue, 5 Aug 2014 14:21:38 -0400
List-Id: <CTRFriendsFamily.americanbridge.org>

**

*Correct The Record Tuesday August 5, 2014 Afternoon Roundup:*

*Tweets:*

*Correct The Record* @CorrectRecord: "There have been eight separate
investigations into the Libyan attacks. Not one has uncovered...[a]
cover-up."
http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/post-partisan/wp/2014/08/04/new-report-wont-stand-down-benghazi-conspiracy-theories/
…
<http://t.co/vNoUXc6i8D>[8/5/14, 10:30 a.m. EDT
<https://twitter.com/CorrectRecord/status/496664636260093952>]

*Correct The Record* @CorrectRecord: .@alexwagner
<https://twitter.com/alexwagner>: “The latest news on the Benghazi scandal
is that there is no Benghazi scandal.”
http://www.mediaite.com/tv/shocker-msnbc-only-network-reporting-good-news-for-obama-on-benghazi/
…
<http://t.co/KAOk7XqGZo> [8/5/14, 9:46 a.m. EDT
<https://twitter.com/CorrectRecord/status/496653349631328257>]

*Correct The Record* @CorrectRecord: #ICYMI
<https://twitter.com/hashtag/ICYMI?src=hash> “@DylanByers
<https://twitter.com/DylanByers>: A shocking new Benghazi report
http://www.politico.com/blogs/media/2014/08/a-shocking-new-benghazi-report-193395.html#.U9_UWYxj9y0.twitter
…
<http://t.co/XTNPRR85cF> via @POLITICO <https://twitter.com/politico>”
[8/4/14, 5:08 p.m. EDT
<https://twitter.com/CorrectRecord/status/496402385850208256>]

*Headlines:*

*Media Matters for America: “Fox News Quiet After Congressional Report
Finds No Benghazi Scandal”
<http://mediamatters.org/blog/2014/08/05/fox-news-quiet-after-congressional-report-finds/200318>*

“Fox News has gone silent on Benghazi amid reports that the House
Intelligence Committee concluded that there was no intentional wrongdoing
in the Obama administration's response to the 2012 attacks in Benghazi,
Libya.”

*Atlanta Journal-Constitution blog: Jay Bookman: “Final nails being pounded
in Benghazi ‘scandal’”
<http://www.ajc.com/weblogs/jay-bookman/2014/aug/05/final-nails-being-pounded-benghazi-scandal/>*

“In effect, that reduces Gowdy's ‘investigation’ into a highly partisan
spin operation that attempts to repackage the truth into something that
sounds much worse than it actually is.”

*ABC News blog: The Note: “The Clintons’ Summer Vacation Does Not Sound
Relaxing at All”
<http://abcnews.go.com/blogs/politics/2014/08/the-clintons-summer-vacation-does-not-sound-relaxing-at-all/>*

“Over the past 58 days, she [Sec. Clinton] has made more than 77
appearances, including book signings, speaking engagements and media
interviews, across roughly 15 states and four foreign countries.”

*The Hill blog: Ballot Box: “Plouffe predicts most Dem contenders would
'stand down' if Clinton runs”
<http://thehill.com/blogs/ballot-box/presidential-races/214323-plouffe-most-dems-would-stand-down-for-hillary>*

“Hillary Clinton is ‘a dominant front-runner’ who has a ‘huge, huge base in
the Democratic Party,’ former Obama White House senior adviser David
Plouffe said Monday.”

*The Hill blog: Ballot Box: “O’Malley on 2016: US needs to make ‘better
choices’”
<http://thehill.com/blogs/ballot-box/214330-omalley-calls-for-better-choices-when-asked-about-clinton>*

“Maryland Gov. Martin O'Malley (D) in an interview Monday discussed the
possibility of running for president in 2016, saying he believed the
country needed to make ‘better choices.’”

*Washington Post: “O’Malley headed back to New Hampshire as he eyes a
possible 2016 White House bid”
<http://www.washingtonpost.com/local/md-politics/omalley-headed-back-to-new-hampshire-as-he-eyes-a-possible-2016-white-house-bid/2014/08/05/b61cb918-1cb8-11e4-ab7b-696c295ddfd1_story.html>*

“O’Malley (D) is scheduled to appear at a family picnic Aug. 17 hosted by
the Strafford County Democrats, the party announced Tuesday.”

*The Hill: “Bill Clinton: Attacks on Ex-Im bank ‘ridiculous’”
<http://thehill.com/policy/finance/214326-bill-clinton-attacks-on-ex-im-bank-ridiculous>*

“Former President Clinton fired back at critics of the Export-Import Bank on
Tuesday, calling their attacks “ridiculous” and urging Congress to
re-authorize the bank.”

*Articles:*

*Media Matters for America: “Fox News Quiet After Congressional Report
Finds No Benghazi Scandal”
<http://mediamatters.org/blog/2014/08/05/fox-news-quiet-after-congressional-report-finds/200318>*

By Alexandrea Boguhn and Jeremy Holden

August 5, 2014

[Subtitle:] New House Intel Report Reportedly Finds No Intentional
Wrongdoing By The Obama Administration

Fox News has gone silent on Benghazi amid reports that the House
Intelligence Committee concluded that there was no intentional wrongdoing
in the Obama administration's response to the 2012 attacks in Benghazi,
Libya.

The San Francisco Chronicle reported on August 1 that the Republican-led
House Intelligence Committee voted to declassify findings from its
investigation into the 2012 attacks on U.S diplomatic facilities in
Benghazi, and "concluded that there was no deliberate wrongdoing by the
Obama administration in the 2012 attack," according to committee member
Rep. Mike Thompson (D-CA).

The intelligence community "did not have specific tactical warning of an
attack before it happened," the process used to create administration
talking points was "flawed" but "reflected the conflicting intelligence
assessments in the days immediately following the crisis, and "there was no
'stand-down order' given to American personnel," Ranking Member Rep. Dutch
Ruppersberger (D-CA) said in a statement laying out the committee's
findings.

It's a clinical, point-by-point refutation of the Benghazi hoax Fox has
pushed for nearly 2 years.

Yet Fox News made no mention of the report on Monday.* In sharp contrast to
its current silence, when House Speaker John Boehner announced the
formation of a select committee to investigate Benghazi in June, Fox
devoted at least 225 segments to the topic over just two weeks, an
estimated publicity value of more than $124 million.

Fox's sudden lack of interest in congressional investigations into Benghazi
comes less then one week after Rep. Trey Gowdy, head of the select
committee, announced - in what Fox News billed as an "exclusive" interview
- that he would hold more public hearings on the attacks in September.

"The American people have not been given clear answers to things like
Benghazi," Bill O'Reilly said Friday night on Fox. Monday night, O'Reilly's
audience didn't learn the answers that the House Intelligence Committee
declassified last week.

On July 31, the day the House Intelligence Committee adopted its report,
Fox News signaled its intention to continue politicizing the Benghazi
tragedy by immediately pivoting to Hillary Clinton.

"The Republican head of the powerful House Intelligence Committee told Fox
News that there was no intelligence failure and that all roads lead to the
State Department," Herridge said on America's Newsroom.

Hours later, the conclusion that there was no intelligence failure had
evaporated from her reporting. "The chairman of the House Intelligence
Committeee says, Hillary Clinton's State Department has more explaining to
do," Herridge claimed on The Kelly Report that night.

That assessment was based on questions answered long ago about who signs
diplomatic cables at the State Department.

*Atlanta Journal-Constitution blog: Jay Bookman: “Final nails being pounded
in Benghazi ‘scandal’”
<http://www.ajc.com/weblogs/jay-bookman/2014/aug/05/final-nails-being-pounded-benghazi-scandal/>*

By Jay Bookman

August 5, 2014, 7:30 a.m. EDT

After a two-year investigation, the House Intelligence Committee quietly
voted last week to release its final report on the events leading up to the
tragedy in Benghazi and its aftermath. The vote was unanimous, supported by
all 12 Republicans and all nine Democrats, which is unusual these days. The
completed report is now being declassified by intelligence analysts before
being released to the public.

And what does the report conclude? Republican committee members are being
oddly quiet about its findings, given how quick they have been to seek
headlines on the matter in the past. However, U.S. Rep. Dutch
Ruppersberger, the panel's top Democrat, has announced its basic findings.

According to Ruppersberger:

“This report shows that there was no intelligence failure surrounding the
Benghazi attacks that killed Ambassador Chris Stevens and three other brave
Americans. Our investigation found the Intelligence Community warned about
an increased threat environment, but did not have specific tactical warning
of an attack before it happened, which is consistent with testimony that
the attacks appeared to be opportunistic.”

“Additionally, the report shows there was no “stand down order” given to
American personnel attempting to offer assistance that evening, and no
American was left behind.”

“The report also shows that the process used to develop the talking points
was flawed, but that the talking points reflected the conflicting
intelligence assessments in the days immediately following the crisis.”

“Finally, the report demonstrates that there was no illegal activity or
illegal arms sales occurring at U.S. facilities in Benghazi. And there was
absolutely no evidence, in documents or testimony, that the Intelligence
Community’s assessments were politically motivated in any way.”

Given the importance of bipartisan cooperation on the Intelligence
Committee, it is highly unlikely that Ruppersberger is in any way
misleading the public about what the panel has concluded**; certainly, no
Republicans have stepped forward to challenge his description of the
report's findings. They instead seem to have wandered into the cone of
silence.

That's not surprising, because based on Ruppersberger's account, the
bipartisan, unanimous Intelligence Committee report -- compiled with
complete access to witnesses, documents, etc. -- definitively refutes every
single right-wing conspiracy theory spun about Benghazi. No Republican
wants to be the carrier of that message to his fellow party members.

Its findings also put the still-pending select investigative committee
headed by U.S. Rep. Trey Gowdy in an interesting little quandary. Its first
hearing has been scheduled for early September, timed perfectly to start
getting the base all fired up for the November midterms.  I very much doubt
that Gowdy will uncover evidence that the House Intelligence Committee
overlooked, and the committee's vote to release its report suggests that it
too is confident that it won't be embarrassed by later revelations.

In effect, that reduces Gowdy's "investigation" into a highly partisan spin
operation that attempts to repackage the truth into something that sounds
much worse than it actually is.  Then again, that pretty much epitomizes
what "Benghazi!!!!!" has been all along.

*ABC News blog: The Note: “The Clintons’ Summer Vacation Does Not Sound
Relaxing at All”
<http://abcnews.go.com/blogs/politics/2014/08/the-clintons-summer-vacation-does-not-sound-relaxing-at-all/>*

By Liz Kreutz

August 5, 2014, 1:02 p.m. EDT

For many Americans, summer is the season of backyard barbecues, bonfires at
the beach and unforgettable family vacations.

But for the Clintons, never ones to be ordinary, this summer has been
anything but.

Since the release of her memoir, “Hard Choices,” in early June, Hillary
Clinton has been on an epic nationwide book tour and press blitz. Over the
past 58 days, she has made more than 77 appearances, including book
signings, speaking engagements and media interviews, across roughly 15
states and four foreign countries.

Her husband, former President Bill Clinton, has also kept his own
rigorously packed schedule, which has included trips on behalf of the Bill,
Hillary and Chelsea Clinton Foundation to Europe, Southeast Asia and
Australia.

This past weekend, the Clintons took off to vacation in Amagansett, New
York, a beach town on Long Island - meaning perhaps the most energetic duo
in politics, soon to be grandparents, and possibly the next couple to call
the White House their home, finally carved out time to relax, unplug, put
an end to the book tour and retreat back into life as private citizens.

Right?

Wrong.

Not even 48 hours into their vacation, Bill Clinton trotted off to
Washington, D.C., to moderate the opening session today of a business forum
at the U.S.-Africa Leaders Summit hosted by President Obama.

Then, Wednesday, the former president will head to Kentucky for not one,
but two, campaign events for Democratic U.S. Senate candidate Alison
Lundergan Grimes.

Meanwhile, back on Long Island, Hillary Clinton has scheduled her own
public appearance for the same day: a book signing for her memoir in
Huntington, New York.

In addition, both the Clintons are expected to attend a fundraiser
Saturday evening
for the Clinton Foundation at the sprawling home of New York
philanthropists Joan and George Hornig. Tickets for the event, according to
the New York Times, cost tens of thousands of dollars each.

That’s not all. Next weekend, Hillary Clinton has scheduled two more book
signing events: one in East Hampton and the other at a bookstore in
Martha’s Vineyard. While there, the former secretary of state will overlap
with the Obamas, who will be vacationing in the Vineyard at the same time.
It is unclear however, whether they have any plans to meet up.

Later in the month, Hillary Clinton has a keynote speech scheduled for a
tech company in San Francisco, in September is the annual Clinton
Foundation meeting in New York, and through the fall both Clintons will
likely campaign for midterm candidates before their daughter gives birth to
their first grandchild. After that, Hillary Clinton may decide to run for
president.

And then, well, there isn’t any foreseeable downtime.

*The Hill blog: Ballot Box: “Plouffe predicts most Dem contenders would
'stand down' if Clinton runs”
<http://thehill.com/blogs/ballot-box/presidential-races/214323-plouffe-most-dems-would-stand-down-for-hillary>*

By Justin Sink

August 5, 2014, 10:38 a.m. EDT

Hillary Clinton is "a dominant front-runner" who has a "huge, huge base in
the Democratic Party," former Obama White House senior adviser David
Plouffe said Monday.

“I think most people will decide to stand down," Plouffe, who served as
President Obama's campaign manager in 2008, predicted of the Democratic
field.

Still, Plouffe told Politico's "Playbook Lunch" that it was still possible
that Vice President Biden, who has openly flirted with the idea of a 2016
run, could mount a bid.

The former White House adviser said Biden "connects with middle-class
voters exceedingly well" and hailed the vice president’s "authenticity" and
"great appeal."

"All of us in Obamaworld have such affection for him, a belief in him as a
public official,” Plouffe said. “He’s an amazing person.”

President Obama has so far declined to weigh in on the 2016 race to replace
him, offering praise for both Biden and Clinton. In an interview with the
New Yorker published last month, Obama said Biden would be a "superb
president."

“He has seen the job up close, he knows what the job entails,” Obama said.

But the question for both Biden and Clinton, Obama said, is whether they
actually want to run for president, something he described as a “pretty
undignifying process.”

“I think that, for both Joe and for Hillary, they’ve already accomplished
an awful lot in their lives,” Obama said. “The question is, do they, at
this phase in their lives, want to go through the pretty undignifying
process of running all over again.”

Obama's former top aide said that, while it appeared many Republicans were
willing and eager to go through that process, their primary remained a
"complete jump ball."

He said New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie had "the rawest political skill,"
but Plouffe said his tendency to be "thin-skinned" could prove his
downfall. He added that Christie and former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush could
struggle to appeal to hard-line conservatives within the party.

Plouffe said Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) could thrive in the GOP primary
because he was "most in alignment" with Tea Party voters that provide the
base of the Republican electorate.

“He is emblematic of where a lot of that hard-core primary voter base is
right now,” Plouffe said.

Fellow Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) could also challenge for the nomination, the
Obama strategist said, because of his ability to bridge the Tea Party and
libertarian wings of the party.

*The Hill blog: Ballot Box: “O’Malley on 2016: US needs to make ‘better
choices’”
<http://thehill.com/blogs/ballot-box/214330-omalley-calls-for-better-choices-when-asked-about-clinton>*

By Peter Sullivan

August 5, 2014, 11:34 a.m. EDT

Maryland Gov. Martin O'Malley (D) in an interview Monday discussed the
possibility of running for president in 2016, saying he believed the
country needed to make “better choices.”

Asked why he would want to be president, knowing he would likely face a
tough race against Hillary Clinton, O’Malley said “I love my country.”

“I believe our country’s best days are still ahead of us, but I believe
also that we need to make better choices as a people, choices that actually
reflect not only the goodness of who we are but also the better future that
we’re all desirous of creating for our kids," he told Fusion’s Jorge Ramos.

It is unclear if O’Malley’s call for “better choices” was a dig at Clinton,
who released her memoir this spring titled Hard Choices.

Polls show Clinton to be the clear Democratic favorite if she enters the
2016 contest. O’Malley has spoken publicly about weighing a run, but
speculation remains about whether he would actually enter the race if
Clinton also does.

In the interview, O’Malley sidestepped questions about whether he would
directly challenge Clinton, saying only that he is “seriously considering
running in 2016,” something he has acknowledged before.

O’Malley would not say if he would back Clinton if she entered the race.

Asked if he is writing a book, a common move for a presidential candidate,
O'Malley said with a smile, "I'm always writing, Jorge."

O'Malley has been trying to position himself to the left of Clinton and the
president on some issues, notably appearing to criticize the Obama
administration's handling of the border crisis by saying the U.S. should
not send young illegal migrants "back to death."

Still, he is a longshot to beat Clinton. He trailed by a massive 65
percentage points (67 percent to 2 percent) behind Clinton in a CNN/ORC
poll this month.

*Washington Post: “O’Malley headed back to New Hampshire as he eyes a
possible 2016 White House bid”
<http://www.washingtonpost.com/local/md-politics/omalley-headed-back-to-new-hampshire-as-he-eyes-a-possible-2016-white-house-bid/2014/08/05/b61cb918-1cb8-11e4-ab7b-696c295ddfd1_story.html>*

By John Wagner

August 5, 2014, 12:06 p.m. EDT

Maryland Gov. Martin O’Malley, who is weighing a 2016 White House bid, is
heading back to New Hampshire this month.

O’Malley (D) is scheduled to appear at a family picnic Aug. 17 hosted by
the Strafford County Democrats, the party announced Tuesday.

O’Malley last appeared in New Hampshire, home of the nation’s first
presidential primaries, in June for a Flag Day dinner in Manchester. He has
since made two trips to Iowa, home of the nation’s first presidential
caucuses.

Proceeds from the upcoming picnic in New Hampshire will benefit candidates
in the 2014 elections, the party said. Aides have said O’Malley’s travel is
primarily to help other Democrats on the ballot this year.

O’Malley, who is term-limited and steps down in January, has said he is
preparing for a potential presidential run regardless of whether Hillary
Clinton moves forward with a bid.

*The Hill: “Bill Clinton: Attacks on Ex-Im bank ‘ridiculous’”
<http://thehill.com/policy/finance/214326-bill-clinton-attacks-on-ex-im-bank-ridiculous>*

By Kevin Cirilli

August 5, 2014, 10:48 a.m. EDT

Former President Clinton fired back at critics of the Export-Import Bank on
Tuesday, calling their attacks “ridiculous” and urging Congress to
re-authorize the bank.

"Economics is not theology. If you're running a country, you've got to try
to create an opportunity for all of your businesses to be competitive,"
Clinton said, while moderating a panel at the U.S.-Africa Business Forum,
part of a three-day summit in Washington to promote the economic
partnership between America and Africa.

"That's all the Ex-Im bank does, and I've heard more ridiculous things said
about the Ex-Im bank in the last six months than I have in my adult life,"
he added.

In his second question as moderator during the 45-minute discussion,
Clinton asked General Electric CEO Jeff Immelt, a supporter of Ex-Im, to
address the importance of the bank.

"We don't want to get in the middle of Washington's political wars, but how
important do you think it is for the future prospects of getting more
financing in Africa for American businesses to renew the Export-Import
Bank?" Clinton asked.

"There's a lot of things to be critical about big businesses, and there's a
lot of things that don't work in government, but exporting is not one of
them and the Ex-Im Bank is not one of them," Immelt responded. "And the
fact that we have to sit here and argue for it I think is just wrong.”

Immelt said the bank helps finance and support U.S. businesses looking to
make inroads in markets that traditional financial institutions might deem
too risky.

"But more so than anything else, Mr. President, is that it shows the U.S.
cares," Immelt continued. "It speaks to the country's interest in a region,
it's a competitive weapon, and it creates jobs here — lots of jobs, and it
creates jobs in the countries we go to."

Tea Party groups and many GOP leaders, including House Financial Services
Chairman Jeb Hensarling (R-Texas), are urging Congress not to re-authorize
the bank, whose charter expires at the end of September. If Congress
doesn't re-authorize the bank, it will shut down.

Critics of the bank, which also include Rep. Paul Ryan (R-Wis.), say it's
little more than "corporate cronyism" designed to prop-up companies like GE
and Boeing.

Clinton has offered his support for Ex-Im in June during an interview with
NBC's "Meet The Press," where he criticized then-newly crowned House
Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) for opposing re-authorization.

"What's the first thing he does after he becomes the No. 2 guy in the House
leadership? What is the very first thing he does? He changes his position
on whether we're going to fund the Export-Import Bank because the
conservative politicians say, 'Oh, that's just a Wall Street crony
capitalism deal,'" Clinton told "Meet The Press".

"That's not a Wall Street crony capitalism deal,” Clinton said. “That's a
financing device that allows us to compete with the 60 other countries of
the world who are trying to save jobs in their countries, and they helped
finance exports."