Democratic pollster and author Doug Schoen tells Newsmax TV that the attack on the U.S. diplomatic compound in Benghazi is likely to follow former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton into the 2016 presidential race should she decide to make another run for the White House.
Speaking in an exclusive interview, Schoen said that Wednesday’s Congressional hearing into the Sept. 11, 2012 attack in which Ambassador Chris Stevens and three other Americans perished, has only raised more questions.
“This is still a work in progress,” he said on Wednesday. “Look, the hearing today raises more questions about what happened, why a force was not sent in to try to rescue the ambassador and his colleagues.”
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The hours-long hearing produced revived disputes over the widely debunked comments made by U.N. Ambassador Susan Rice five days after the attacks and the inability of the U.S. military to respond quickly.
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The session also highlighted bitter partisan divisions as Republicans, who are pressing ahead with the investigation eight months after the attacks, insist the Obama administration is covering up information and Democrats decry politicization of a national security issue.
Schoen, whose most recent book is called "Hopelessly Divided: The New Crisis in American Politics and What It Means for 2012 and Beyond," said that Clinton will not be able to escape the spreading scandal.
"I would be very surprised if other candidates — certainly Republicans — didn’t raise it," predicted Schoen. "Again, there have been questions about the performance of the State Department. She, herself, has acknowledged that as secretary of state she has ultimate responsibility for what goes on."
Schoen said it’s too soon to speculate on what effect — if any — the Benghazi scandal will have on President Barack Obama’s second term, and ultimately his legacy.
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“We still have unanswered questions about what the president knew, when he knew it, what he was doing,” according to Schoen. “So, we are really still in the middle of a drama that’s playing itself out.”
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