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May 08, 2013
Hicks Was Told Not to Speak Alone to Congressional Investigators; Hillary's "Fixer" Cheryl Mills Insisted On Being Present At Every Meeting
Hicks: I Was Demoted to Desk Jockey
Buzzfeed says he was told not to meet with investigators, but I believe that's incorrect: He was told to not be "isolated" with Congressional investigators -- that is, he was told not to speak with them without having a Hillary delegate present, monitoring the conversation.
Remember, it was the Administration's claim that they were not engaged in attempting to silence or control the whistleblowers.
Having Hillary's fixer present with you at every meeting -- remember, Hillary was Hicks' boss, before she wanted to spend more time with her family -- would not seem conducive to getting the unvarished truth out.
More: Cheryl Mills was "very upset" with Hicks. Video at the link.
"I was instructed not to allow the RSO, the acting deputy chief of mission — me — to be personally interviewed," said Gregory Hicks, the fomer Deputy Chief of Mission in Libya, who was in Tripoli at the time of the Benghazi attack. He said that was the first time administration lawyers had told him not to talk to a congressional delegation, and that a lawyer attempted to be present during the meeting.
"We were not to be personally interviewed by Congressman Chaffetz," Hicks said again later in the hearing.
...
Hicks also said that Cheryl Mills, former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton's chief of staff (who Ohio Rep. Jordan referred to as Clinton's "fixer" while questioning Hicks), had attempted to monitor the meeting between Hicks and the delegation consisting of Rep. Jason Chaffetz.
And more from Bryan Preston:
2:44 pm Rep. Chaffetz takes the mic again after brief questioning from another GOP member. He asks whether the US government ever asked the Libyan government for overflight permission. Hicks responds that a drone was overhead and it had permission. No other requests for permission were asked for, but Hicks and Nordstrom say the Libyans would have granted such permission if it had been asked.
Earlier, I missed a moment: Hicks testified that he debriefed Clinton at 2 am after the attack, but she continued to blame the YouTube for days afterward. He never even believed that the YouTube movie had anything to do with the attack.
...
2:56 pm Rep. Paul Gosar (R-AZ) takes over questioning, asks Hicks about his conversation with Jones regarding Rice’s statements. He says the conversation was “curt,” and that soon thereafter he started getting questioned about his “management style.”
Gosar plays Clinton’s “What difference, at this point, does it make?” video, asks Hicks to respond to it. Hicks: Libyan president was insulted, and his credibility was reduced along with his ability to govern. He was angry even two weeks later. It negatively affected our ability to get the FBI to Benghazi quickly enough to investigate. This is the third time Hicks has connected the Clinton and Rice statements to obstructing the FBI investigation.
In addition, Hicks asked Rice why she continued to blame the video when no intelligence suggested such a link. Her answer? "I don't know."