The latest Benghazi email discovery is just an ambassador raving about Hillary Clinton
Of about 30 Benghazi-related emails found by the FBI in Hillary Clinton's private email server, only one of them is an entirely new discovery — and it just so happens to be a memo from a veteran praising Clinton for how she handled the crisis, Politico reports.
All the other emails had already been discovered in a previous State Department investigation: "The FBI-provided files simply showed that Clinton had asked an assistant to print out the emails," Politico reports. The only brand new discovery was a note from the then-U.S. ambassador to Brazil, Thomas Shannon, who told Clinton's chief of staff, Cheryl Mills, that he "watched with great admiration as [Clinton] dealt with a tough and personally painful issue in a fair, candid, and determined manner."
Shannon went on: "I was especially impressed by her ability to turn aside the obvious efforts to politicize the events in Benghazi, reminding Americans of the tremendous sacrifice made by Chris Stevens and his colleagues but also insisting that our ability to play a positive role in the world and protect U.S. interests requires a willingness to take risks." Mills forwarded the email to Clinton's personal account, although it ultimately wasn't turned over when Clinton's lawyers handed over her work-related emails two years ago.
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Nevertheless, "the email does not change the facts that have previously been made clear about the Benghazi attacks," State spokesman Mark Toner said.
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Jeva Lange was the executive editor at TheWeek.com. She formerly served as The Week's deputy editor and culture critic. She is also a contributor to Screen Slate, and her writing has appeared in The New York Daily News, The Awl, Vice, and Gothamist, among other publications. Jeva lives in New York City. Follow her on Twitter.
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