CNN won't be shamed into giving more coverage to still-unanswered questions swirling around the terror attack in Benghazi, CNN Worldwide President Jeff Zucker says.
Capital New York reports that Zucker's ratings-stagnant news network isn't sure how it will cover hearings planned by House Republicans to drill down into what President Barack Obama and his diplomatic and military leaders were doing before, during and after the militant onslaught that left the U.S. ambassador and three other Americans dead.
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In a Q&A session with The New York Times' Bill Carter at a media awards dinner,
Zucker suggested the GOP was playing politics with the coming hearings.
"We're not going to be shamed into it by others who have political beliefs that want to try to have temper tantrums to shame other news organizations into covering something," he said. "If it's of real news value, we'll cover it."
Sen. Ron Johnson, a Wisconsin Republican, blames former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton for failing to get the proper protection for Ambassador Christopher Stevens. Security was actively scaled back before the attack, he contends.
He told Newsmax TV that Clinton is guilty of
"dereliction of duty."
Zucker's competitors at Fox and MSNBC have intensified their coverage since emails were uncovered that show a top White House aide gave former U.N. Ambassador Susan Rice talking points ahead of media interviews, reports
TV Newser.