Hillary Clinton called to testify before Benghazi attack committee

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Presidential candidate will face tough grilling about the 2012 terror attacks in Libya
Republicans sought closed-door, transcribed interview before public hearing but Clinton's lawyer said she was ready to testify
Chairman predicts 'Clinton could be done with the Benghazi Committee before the Fourth of July'
Former secretary of state expected to sit in the hot seat on Capitol Hill in the week of May 18 and again before June 18

By Associated Press and David Martosko, Us Political Editor For Dailymail.com

Published: 16:28 EST, 23 April 2015 | Updated: 17:03 EST, 23 April 2015

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The chairman of a House committee investigating the 2012 terror attacks on Americans in Benghazi, Libya, on Thursday called former Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton to testify at a public hearing next month.

The move will set up a high-profile showdown over Clinton's use of a private email account and server while she was secretary of state – and allow the GOP to rehash questions about her performance before and after the deadly assault on a diplomatic compound and a CIA annex nearby.

South Carolina Republican Rep. Trey Gowdy said he wants Clinton to testify the week of May 18 and again before June 18.

HOT SEAT: Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Rodham Clinton will testify in public about the Benghazi debacle, and about her exclusive use of a home-brew email server while she was secretary of state

NO COMMENT: Hillary stared ahead and walked wordlessly Tuesday through a Washington, DC airport, refusing to acknowledge her first campaign-trail question about the deadly Benghazi terror attacks in 2012

DEADLY: The September 11, 2012 Benghazi terror attacks killed four Americans including the US ambassador to Libya

The first hearing would focus on Clinton's use of private emails, and the second on the September 2012 attacks that killed four Americans, including the U.S. ambassador to Libya.

'With her cooperation and that of the State Department and (Obama) administration, Secretary Clinton could be done with the Benghazi Committee before the Fourth of July,' Gowdy said in a statement.

It is necessary to call Clinton to appear twice 'because the committee needs to ensure we have a complete and responsive record and all the facts before we then substantively question her on the Benghazi terrorist attacks,' Gowdy said.

Clinton 'screamed at Rep. for saying Benghazi was terror attack'

INFAMOUS: 'The fact is we had four dead Americans,' Clinton said during a 2013 Senate hearing. 'Was it because of a protest or was it because of guys out for a walk one night who decided that they’d they go kill some Americans? What difference at this point does it make?'

NOT FORGOTTEN: U.S. Ambassader the Libya Chris Stevens was the first to die in Benghazi, and was seen by Libyans as a moderate – angering anti-American hardliners from radical Islamist groups

Clinton dodged questions about the Benghazi attacks on Tuesday after landing in Washington, D.C. following a two-day presidential campaign swing in New Hampshire.

Daily Mail Online asked her in the Reagan National Airport terminal if she had made mistakes handling the crisis, and when she would be ready to start answering reporters' questions.

Clinton, steely-eyed, looked forward and walked silently without uttering a word.

Gowdy's action comes a day after the GOP-led panel signaled its final report could slip to next year, just months before the presidential election. Clinton is widely considered the front-runner for the Democratic nomination for president.

Gowdy spokesman Jamal Ware said on Wednesday that Gowdy wants to complete the panel's work by the end of the year, but said factors including witness availability, compliance with document requests and security clearances 'could continue to impact the timing of the inquiry's conclusion.'

A lawyer for Clinton said she is prepared to answer questions publicly regarding the Benghazi attacks and her email use as soon as possible.

'There is no reason to delay her appearance or to have her testify in a private interview,' lawyer David Kendall said Wednesday in a letter to Gowdy.

Clinton has twice testified before Congress on the Benghazi matter, telling lawmakers in 2013 that she takes responsibility for missteps by the State Department in the months leading up to the assault.

But Clinton insisted that requests for more security at the diplomatic mission in Benghazi didn't reach her desk, and reminded lawmakers that they have a responsibility to fund security-related budget requests.

McCain: Clinton should face Benghazi select committee

CASUALTIES: US Foreign Service Information Management Officer Sean Smith (left), US Navy SEAL Glen Doherty (center) and US Nacy SEAL Tyrone Woods (right) perished in the Ansar al-Shariah attacks in Benghazi

PROTEST: Congressional interns carried photographs of Woods, Doherty and Smith during a Special Operations Speaks Political Action Committee news conference in July 2013

SMOLDERING: The fires in Benghazi have gone out, but not the Republican Party's zeal to tarnish Hillary Clinton's political legacy with new questions about how it happened and why some details were allegedly covered up

Gowdy's letter includes more than 100 questions he and other lawmakers may pose to Clinton about her email use, including why she considered using a private server and what was done to vet the companies or individuals who set up the server.

And still lingering, too, are uneasy questions about why Clinton initially blamed the Benghazi attaks on a spontaneous protest sparked by an anti-Muslim YouTube video produced in the United States.

American intelligence knew during the attack that it was launched by a terror group, Ansar al-Whariah, which is affiliated with al Qaeda.

Months later, following a concussion that delayed her congressional testimony about Benghazi, she testified in a U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Committee hearing.

'The fact is we had four dead Americans,' Clinton told the senators. 'Was it because of a protest or was it because of guys out for a walk one night who decided that they’d they go kill some Americans?'

'What difference at this point does it make?'

Rep. Elijah Cummings of Maryland, senior Democrat on the Benghazi panel, said the focus on email comes after 'Republicans' multi-year search for evidence to back up their Benghazi conspiracy theories has turned up nothing.'

Cummings accused Gowdy and other Republicans of a 'coordinated attempt' to 'drag out this taxpayer-funded search for anything they can use against Hillary Clinton, while their political arm raises campaign funds off the deaths of four Americans.'