President Barack Obama at a Democratic Party fundraiser at the Waldorf Astoria hotel in New York, May 13, 2013.??Under heavy political pressure, the White House on Wednesday released 100 pages of internal Obama Administration emails in which senior officials debated what to tell Americans about the Sept. 11, 2012 terrorist attack in Benghazi, Libya.
The emails show that the CIA on Sept. 14, 2012 drafted the requested talking points regarding the attack and removed references to al-Qaida and changed Benghazi "attacks" to Benghazi "demonstrations" before the White House saw the talking points.
"The attacks in Benghazi were spontaneously inspired by the protests at the US Embassy in Cairo," read one phrase in the original talking points.
That was changed later that afternoon to read: "the demonstrations in Benghazi were spontaneously inspired by the protests" because senior administration officials said it was deemed an awkward account of events.
The original memo referred to "Islamic extremists with ties to al-Qai'da" participating in the attack, but the reference to extremists was later couched and the reference to al Qaida was removed citing the ongoing FBI investigation.
The emails show those changes were made before concerns expressed by the State Department.
A senior administration official told reporters Wednesday that the White House had taken the step of releasing the emails-- as they were provided to members of Congress-- following misinformation regarding the exchanges and allegations of a coverup.
Republicans have charged that the White House played down the role of suspected terrorists in the attack, which left four Americans dead including U.S. Ambassador Chris Stevens. GOP lawmakers have said that President Barack Obama's reelection campaign did not want to undermine its message that al-Qaida was on the run. Obama has flatly denied any attempt to deceive the public, and on Monday he called the allegations a "sideshow" that dishonors the memories of those killed.
Some of the back-and-forth has centered on the email messages among top officials looking to craft "talking points" for members of Congress just a few days after the attack. The White House has accused Republicans of pushing "fabricated" messages to damage the administration.
On Wednesday, senior administration officials briefed reporters on the messages and provided binders of 100 pages of emails. The officials said the communications would show that the CIA led the changes to the talking points, including alterations that Republicans claim show a political motive. The officials went through the emails page by page.
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