Today, the House Oversight Committee cancelled the planned June 12 hearing at which Secretary of State John Kerry was to testify.
The Oversight Committee had subpoenaed Kerry for an appearance in May when he refused to appear voluntarily. After the subpoena, Kerry negotiated the June appearance.
But at the same time Kerry agreed to testify, the House also voted to convene a special Select Committee to investigate Benghazi. Some Republicans worried that Kerry would use his June 12 appearance before the Oversight Committee as a reason not to testify later before the Select Committee, as he will almost certainly be asked to do.
In fact, a State Department official had stated that Kerry’s testimony in June would “remove any need for the secretary to appear before the select committee” on the Benghazi attacks, which killed U.S. Ambassador Christopher Stevens and three other Americans.
Republican Trey Gowdy of South Carolina has been chosen to lead the Select Committee. A spokesman for the House Oversight Committee says it has turned over its Benghazi-related documents to the Select Committee.
