House Benghazi panel chairman says Hillary Clinton 'not worth 18 months of my life'


When Rep. Trey Gowdy (R-S.C.) was a district attorney, he got death threats, but "I would say in some ways these have been among the worst weeks of my life," he tells Politico, referring to recent charges that his House Select Committee on Benghazi is mainly trying to politically kneecap Hillary Clinton. "Attacks on your character, attacks on your motives, are 1,000-times worse than anything you can do to anybody physically — at least it is for me."
The credibility of his panel has mainly been undermined at the hands of fellow Republicans, amplified by the Clinton presidential campaign, but Gowdy said he thinks the attacks are an attempt to discredit the committee before Clinton testifies before it on Thursday. "I think that's just [the Democrats'] MO: If you can't attack the facts, you can attack the investigators... just attack, attack, attack, and something will take hold," he told Politico. "At some point, maybe something will stick, or maybe you get them off track or you get them to do or say something stupid, then you can seize on that."
Gowdy defended the work his committee has done and the secrecy it has worked under, saying he was never expected to lay out his plan of investigation when he was a DA. And Clinton is not the target of the investigation, he emphasized. "When I hear that 'it's about her,' it is so hard for me," he said, then addressed Clinton directly: "You are not worth 18 months of my life, with all due respect. Four dead people are, but you're not." You can read more at Politico.
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Peter has worked as a news and culture writer and editor at The Week since the site's launch in 2008. He covers politics, world affairs, religion and cultural currents. His journalism career began as a copy editor at a financial newswire and has included editorial positions at The New York Times Magazine, Facts on File, and Oregon State University.
-
House posts lewd Epstein note attributed to Trump
Speed Read The estate of Jeffrey Epstein turned over the infamous 2003 birthday note from President Donald Trump
-
Supreme Court allows 'roving' race-tied ICE raids
Speed Read The court paused a federal judge's order barring agents from detaining suspected undocumented immigrants in LA based on race
-
South Korea to fetch workers detained in Georgia raid
Speed Read More than 300 South Korean workers detained in an immigration raid at a Hyundai plant will be released
-
DC sues Trump to end Guard 'occupation'
Speed Read D.C. Attorney General Brian Schwalb argues that the unsolicited military presence violates the law
-
RFK Jr. faces bipartisan heat in Senate hearing
Speed Read The health secretary defended his leadership amid CDC turmoil and deflected questions about the restricted availability of vaccines
-
White House defends boat strike as legal doubts mount
Speed Read Experts say there was no legal justification for killing 11 alleged drug-traffickers
-
Epstein accusers urge full file release, hint at own list
speed read A rally was organized by Reps. Ro Khanna and Thomas Massie, who are hoping to force a vote on their Epstein Files Transparency Act
-
Court hands Harvard a win in Trump funding battle
Speed Read The Trump administration was ordered to restore Harvard's $2 billion in research grants