Former Clinton aide testifies in Benghazi probe

WASHINGTON – A top aide to former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton answered questions for more than nine hours Thursday about the 2012 terrorist attacks in Benghazi, Libya, but members of Congress declined to reveal details of the daylong inquiry.

Cheryl Mills, Clinton’s chief of staff when Clinton ran the State Department, appeared before the House Select Committee on Benghazi in a secure room in the basement of the Capitol Visitors Center. She addressed reporters briefly afterward, alongside the Republican and Democratic leaders of the committee.

“I want to thank the chairman and the ranking member for the professionalism and respect they showed me throughout this process and for the work they’re doing,” Mills said.

It was a rare cordial moment in an investigation that has grown increasingly partisan and bitter in the 15 months since it began.

Jake Sullivan, who advised Clinton at the State Department and now works on her presidential campaign, is scheduled to appear before the Benghazi panel on Friday, according to committee aides.

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The interviews are exploring how the State Department responded to the attacks in which four Americans were killed, including Ambassador Christopher Stevens. The committee is gathering information on decisions about diplomatic security, the foreign policy mission in Libya at the time, how the administration initially characterized the attacks and the limits of a military rescue.

The committee’s chairman, South Carolina Republican Rep. Trey Gowdy, said Mills answered all questions. But the panel’s GOP members all treated Mills’ interview as if it were classified, and Gowdy refused to discuss specifics.

“The dialogue was professional and fact-centric,” Gowdy said, standing next to Mills.

Rep. Elijah Cummings of Maryland, the panel’s ranking member, said Mills’ answers were thorough and transparent, and he expressed hopes the committee will release the full transcript as soon as possible.

The questioning was conducted by Republican and Democratic committee members and their staffs. Cummings said Democratic members relinquished some of their question time to the GOP.

“We wanted to make sure the Republican members had plenty of time to ask every single question they had to ask,” he said.

Mills said the tragedy in Benghazi involved "the loss of individuals who were dear to the State Department and dear to this country."

"We honor them by remembering what happened and doing our best to make sure that doesn't happen again," she said.

Another former Clinton aide, Bryan Pagliano, has asserted his Fifth Amendment right not to answer the committee’s questions. The information technology staffer handled Clinton’s emails and the private computer server she used while secretary of state.

The private server, and Clinton’s decision to clear it of about 30,000 emails she says were personal, has become a central focus of the Benghazi investigation. Gowdy has repeatedly argued that a complete investigation requires the production of all related documents, and he has publicly questioned Clinton’s unusual email arrangement.

Clinton is scheduled to testify publicly before the panel on Oct. 22.

“We have been confident from the beginning that Hillary Clinton's use of a personal email (server) was allowed and that she did not send or receive anything marked classified, facts confirmed by the State Department and the inspector general,” said Clinton’s presidential campaign spokesman, Nick Merrill. “She has made every effort to answer questions and be as helpful as possible, and has encouraged her aides, current and former, to do the same, including Bryan Pagliano.”

One reason Pagliano has refused to answer questions concerns the politics surrounding the Benghazi panel and accusations by several Republicans that Clinton broke the law.

“Although multiple legal experts agree there is no evidence of criminal activity, it is certainly understandable that this witness’s attorneys advised him to assert his Fifth Amendment rights, especially given the onslaught of wild and unsubstantiated accusations by Republican presidential candidates, Members of Congress, and others,” Cummings said in a statement Thursday. “Their insatiable desire to derail Secretary Clinton’s presidential campaign at all costs has real consequences for any serious congressional effort.”

Cummings said Thursday morning that Republican committee leaders rejected Mills’ request that her interview be conducted in public.

He said he's worried about the possibility that portions of Mills' testimony will be selectively leaked and could be taken out of context.

Cummings said he's not surprised -- but is disappointed -- that Pagilano has invoked his Fifth Amendment right not to testify.

“I would have like to have heard what he had to say,” Cummings said.

Contributing: Heidi Przybyla