Guest Editorial

BY DWIGHT KEHOE  | MAY 15, 2013

Bookmark and Share

Benghazi – politics or crimes

dwight kehoeIn light of the Congressional hearings relating to the Benghazi coverup and the death of American citizens, allegations of political manipulation of information have become moot. It is clear now that the factual abetment of information slithering out from the Obama administration was not the result of fear over being ousted from the Presidency, but fear of being remanded to the penitentiary.

For sure, as with most high crimes, the exordium was instigated by politics. Because Obama had such a dismal record on every other front, domestic and foreign, it was imperative for him to be able to claim terrorism was defeated. But this denial, before the fact, not after, is where the culpability for the deaths of those Americans originated.

The hearings made it strikingly clear. This administration denied all requests for more security, prior to and leading up to the anniversary of 9/11, for one reason and one reason only. More manpower would equate to less security and would indicate that claims of the demise of terrorism were false. Regardless of the possible outcome, the lives of our heroes, it appears, were not even considered when weighted against the loss of a few votes.

Clearly, not providing more security could be a crime and the stand down order for the FEST team located in Tripoli, just an hour away, also is and possibly even a more blatant act of manslaughter. Why? Because at that time, initiating a military response to Benghazi would do two things. First and less important, it would prove that Obama did not have the terrorists defeated. But more importantly egregious, it would clearly indicate that not securing the Benghazi Mission, when requested, was a dangerous and flagrant disregard for human lives.

If the legal description, provided below, does not perfectly construe this Benghazi crime scene its hard to imagine what would.

Manslaughter, involuntary
In order for a person to be found guilty of involuntary manslaughter the government must prove that someone was killed as a result of an act by the person;

Second, in the circumstances existing at the time, the person's act either was by its nature dangerous to human life or was done with reckless disregard for human life; and

Third, the person either knew that such conduct was a threat to the lives of others or knew of circumstances that would reasonably cause the person to foresee that such conduct might be a threat to the lives of others.


The first denial of extra security for not only Benghazi, but also Tripoli, is where the contrivance changed from political to criminal.

Now enter the crime of obstruction. Once the administration understood that their actions were criminal in the flagrant disregard for human lives, and that disregard in fact did cause 4 deaths, the next crime of obstruction of justice began.

Blaming a ridiculous video, changing official information, hiding survivors, intimidating and demoting diplomats, refusing to disclose emails and communications between Libya and Washington, prior to, during and after the night long battle for survival, so very clearly falls into the realm of criminality. The obstruction of justice law, described below couldn't be more relevant.

Obstruction of justice
Obstruction of justice is an attempt to interfere with the administration of the courts, the judicial system or law enforcement officers.

It may include tampering with or intimidating, hiding evidence or interfering with an arrest. It is something a person does to impede the administration of a court process or proper discharge of a legal duty.

Interference may be with the work of police, investigators, regulatory agencies, prosecutors, or other (usually government) officials. Often, no actual investigation or substantiated suspicion of a specific incident need exist to support a charge of obstruction of justice.


Such activity is a crime.

Knowing what we now know it is time to ensure the American people that Congress will get the answers to the following questions:

Who authored the stand down order to Lt. Col. Gibson which prevented FEST from engaging the terrorists who were attacking the Benghazi mission?

Where was Obama during the more than 12 hours of the siege and evacuation?

Who ordered Rice and Clinton to lie to the American people?

For certain there are a few more questions we would like to have answers to. Not the least of which is, will Hillary Clinton forsake her overwhelming desire to be the first female President (and the 2nd Communist) and fall on her sword for the Divider N Chief?

Knowing the Clintons as we do, it’s not likely that Bill will allow that to happen. Especially since its also not likely he has changed his percipience of Obama's abilities regarding the conveyance of the morning coffee break.

So ... stay tuned. Breaking the law is bad enough. Breaking the law and causing the death of Americans? Very, very serious.

Congress, the ball is in your court. You had better not let us down, again.

Dwight Kehoe is the Managing Editor of TPATH, Tea Party Advocacy Tracking Hub.
For more information, to receive updates and to support TPATH visit www.tpath.org.