By Olivia Rizzo
Social Media Editor
Hillary Clinton faced some of her toughest critics on Thursday, Oct. 22, as the House Senate Committee on Benghazi questioned her for 11 hours.
Republican criticisms and political tensions were present throughout the day.
Clinton endured countless questions on the details of the Benghazi attacks, which occurred on Sept. 11, 2012, and how she handled the situation during her term as secretary of state, CNN reported. Clinton also faced questions about her use of a private email account while she was still in office, during the late hours of the hearing.
“I came here because I said I would. And I’ve done everything I know to do, as have the people with whom I worked, to try to answer your questions. I cannot do any more than that,” Clinton said at the end of the day, CNN said.
According to CNN, the hearing reportedly did not reveal any new information as to what happened in Benghazi or in Washington the night of the attacks, but did reveal the deep partisan divide over the attack.
Clinton remained cool and collected throughout most of the hearing, but as the day wore on, she appeared to become annoyed with the line of questions posed by GOP members of the panel and their constant comments and interruptions.
In her most impassioned response of the day, Clinton argued that she agonized over the deaths of four Americans in Libya more than anyone else on the panel, according to CNN.
“I would imagine I have thought more about what happened than all of you put together,” she said, according to CNN. “I have lost more sleep than all of you put together. I have been wracking my brain about what more could have been done or should have been done.”
Ohio Rep. Jim Jordan repeatedly attacked Clinton throughout the hearing.
Jordan first alleged that Clinton and other Obama administration staff tried to blame the attack on an anti-Muslim video that surfaced on YouTube in order to avoid undermining President Obama’s claims that he had defeated Al Qaeda.
Clinton rejected his claim by saying that in the hours after the attack, information on the nature of the attack carried out by a mob was unclear.
Republicans posed questions about Clinton’s need for a private email server during her time as secretary of state, and criticized Clinton’s explanations. They also tried to prove that she ignored pleas from U.S. diplomats in Libya for more security, CNN reported.
At one point, the hearing became a battle between the panel’s top Republican, Rep. Trey Gowdy of South Carolina, and its top Democrat, Rep. Elijah Cummings of Maryland, as the two shouted over each other about what information the committee should release. Clinton sat in silence, watching the exchange, CNN reported.
As Clinton faced countless amounts of criticisms and questions by Republican members on the panel, Democrats posed questions that allowed Clinton to speak on personal terms about the events in Benghazi.
The overall heated exchanges of the day highlighted that the hearing was not only an examination of Clinton’s actions in regards to Benghazi, but was also an examination of the way partisanship has shaped the investigation.
