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Rep. Peter Roskam rips paper as #FreeHillary rises in the Benghazi committee’s 11th hour

The questioning has now lasted for more than 11 hours.

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Andrew Couts

Tech

Posted on Oct 22, 2015   Updated on May 27, 2021, 6:33 pm CDT

And so, it has come to this. 

Washington Post

Rep. Peter Roskam (R-Ill.) took to ripping up paper in an attempt to better illustrate his criticism of former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, who fielded more than 11 hours of questions from members of the House Select Committee on Benghazi, which is investigating the 2012 attack in Benghazi, Libya, that resulted in the deaths of four Americans. 

The paper-ripping moment came as Roskam chastised Clinton for the State Department’s denial of some additional security resources made by staff members in Benghazi, an issue that has come up repeatedly during the enduring inquiry.

“Here’s what basically happened to their requests,” Roskam said. “They were torn up.”

Clinton denied Roskam’s claims, saying that “many” security requests were granted. “There were affirmative responses to a number of requests for additional security,” she said.

This was not the first tense moment of the hearing between Clinton and Roskam. Near the start of the hearing, which began at 10am ET on Thursday morning, Roskam repeatedly paused his questioning of Clinton every time she looked down at her notes.

“I can pause while you’re reading the notes from your staff,” Roskam said, to which Clinton responded: “I can do more than one thing at a time.”

It is unclear whether the Benghazi hearing has shed new light on the 2012 terrorist attack on an American compound in the city, which is its purpose, according to the Republicans on the Committee. It has, however, sparked renewed sympathy for Clinton, the 2016 Democratic presidential frontrunner, with the hashtag #FreeHillary trending on Twitter as the inquiry enters its eleventh hour.

https://twitter.com/labgrrl/status/657358884408066048

H/T Business Insider | Screengrab via Washington Post

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*First Published: Oct 22, 2015, 10:17 pm CDT

Andrew Couts

Andrew Couts is the former editor of Layer 8, a section dedicated to the intersection of the Internet and the state—and the gaps in between. Prior to the Daily Dot, Couts served as features editor and features writer for Digital Trends, associate editor of TheWeek.com, and associate editor at Maxim magazine. When he’s not working, Couts can be found hiking with his German shepherds or blasting around on motorcycles.

Andrew Couts