The White House has released 100 pages of emails and notes regarding the September 11, 2012, Benghazi attacks on the U.S. consulate that killed four Americans, including Ambassador J. Christopher Stevens. Read the full text of the emails below.
The emails shed light on edits to the infamous “talking points,” which publicly presented the attack as a spontaneous protest and not a terrorist attack.
The documents show the process behind numerous edits, which — among other revisions across several iterations — altered the final version to change the word “attacks” to “demonstrations,” remove a reference to al-Qaeda, and remove a warning about the security climate at the time of the attack.
The White House released the emails as it comes under renewed fire surrounding its handling of the attack following last week’s Congressional testimony by “whistleblower” Gregory Hicks — the former top U.S. diplomat in Libya.
CNN reports this page shows the edits of Mike Morrell, deputy CIA director:
Meanwhile, the Washington Post published an “insider account of the creation of the Benghazi talking points” from former National Security Council spokesman Tommy Vietor, who writes:
… the fact that the government edited these points isn’t surprising or at all nefarious – it’s routine. …
Some allege that edits were made in an effort to downplay the role of al Qaeda or to try and sell a political narrative of rapidly normalizing ties with Libya. That’s just not true.
Read the emails below.