Rand Paul Explains Missing Closed Door Benghazi Briefing: Not Interested in Propaganda, This Needs to Be Done in Public

Congress is holding classified briefings this week on the Benghazi attacks

President Obama, in his first post-election press conference, did not appreciate continued questioning of his administration's handling of the 9/11 Benghazi terrorist attack, and especially criticism of Susan Rice, the UN Ambassador. He suggested critics look at him instead. Senator John McCain did, offering that the president and his administration were either incompetent or engaged in a cover up. McCain caught flak for not attending a closed-door briefing on Benghazi, and his spokesperson told Foreign Policy the absence was due to a "scheduling error." Senator Rand Paul, who was criticized, too, for not attending the briefing but (gasp!) demanding answers anyway, took another tack, his spokesperson explaining exactly why Paul saw no need to attend:

"Sen. Paul didn't need to attend yet another Administration press conference disguised as a classified briefing to know there should have been Marines defending our personnel in Libya, to hear the Administration make the same excuses in private they will make in public. Sen. Paul is focused on demanding answers, demanding those who made these fatal mistake be fired, and fixing the mess this Administration has made. All of that needs to be done in public, for Americans to see and hear."

The administration, of course, has been investigating the incident almost since it happened, and using it to justify playing fast and loose with the narrative for transparently political aims. The use of seemingly never-ending investigations and blame shifting is the most transparent thing about the "most transparent administration in American history."