BENGHAZI 2016ER ATTACKS State Department Stonewalling Ted Cruz On Hillary Clinton And Benghazi: “She Has Deliberately Stonewalled.” “‘What I think is that she has deliberately stonewalled,’ Cruz said in an interview with George Stephanopoulos on ‘This Week.’ ‘The American people deserve the truth; our men and women in harm’s way deserve the truth,’ the Texas Republican added.” [ABC News, 6/1/14; Ted Cruz Interview, This Week, ABC, 6/1/14] Political Messaging In Benghazi Response Ted Cruz Said Hillary Clinton Had “Stonewalled” On Benghazi And Said Her Chief Political Aide Instructed Foreign Services Officers Not To Talk To Members Of The Press Or Congress.” “MR. STEPHANOPOULOS: Rand Paul said her handling of Benghazi's disqualifying her from the presidency. Do you agree? SEN. CRUZ: What I think is that she has deliberately stonewalled. We know, for example, that her chief political aide, Cheryl Mills, went to senior foreign services officers and told them, don't talk to the press, don't talk to members of Congress.” [Ted Cruz Interview, “This Week with George Stephanopoulos”, ABC, 6/1/14] Inadequate Diplomatic Security And Preparation Rand Paul Said That Hillary Clinton Admitted She Had Not Read The Cables From Benghazi And If He Had Been President, He Would Have Fired Her. “Paul also commented on what he said was the current administration’s failure in the handling the 2012 attack on the American consulate in Benghazi, Libya. ‘Six months in advance, possibly nine months in advance, Hillary Clinton was asked for more security and it was denied,’ Paul said. ‘At the same time, $100,000 was spent for a charging station at the Vienna embassy for their cars, $5 million was spent on crystal wear for the embassies, $100,000 was spent to send three comedians to India. I asked Hillary one question, ‘Did you read the cables?’ She said, ‘No.’ I said frankly, ‘If I had been president you would have been relieved of your duties.’’” [The Lima News, 10/21/14] Rand Paul: “Had I Been President At The Time” Of Benghazi, “I Would Have Relieved You Of Your Post.” “Ultimately, with your leaving, you accept the culpability for the worst tragedy since 9/11, and I really mean that. Had I been President at the time, and I found that you did not read the cables from Benghazi, you did not read the cables from Ambassador Stevens, I would have relieved you of your post.” [Senate Hearing on Benghazi Consulate Attack, C-SPAN, 1/23/13] Rand Paul Said Hillary Clinton Should Be Precluded From Being Commander In Chief Since She Could Not “Protect Our Embassies.” “But Paul saved special scorn for Clinton, the prospective frontrunner for the 2016 Democratic presidential nomination, specifically highlighting her role in the events surrounding the deadly 2012 attacks on American consulate in Benghazi, Libya. ‘If she wants to be commander in chief and she cannot protect our embassies, I don’t think that she could or should be,’ Paul said. ‘I think it precludes her from ever being considered as commander in chief.’” [Politico, 8/29/14] Rand Paul Compared The Benghazi Incident To A 1993 Mission In Somalia In Which President Clinton’s Then-Secretary Of Defense Resigned Following The Death Of Americans, And Said That If Hillary Clinton Had “Worked For Bill Clinton, She’d Probably Have Been Fired.” “The first-term senator went on to compare Benghazi to the 1993 mission in Mogadishu, Somalia, in which 18 U.S. military members were killed. Two months after the tragedy, President Bill Clinton announced the