The top Republican leading the House Select Committee on Benghazi is urging his colleagues against using the issue as a fundraising ploy, but the congressman has himself discussed the supposed Benghazi scandal at fundraisers and campaign events.

House Speaker John Boehner (R-OH) last week finally relented to the House GOP caucus’s right wing and agreed to appoint a special committee to launch more investigations into the Obama administration’s handling of the September, 2012 attack, and tasked Rep. Trey Gowdy (R-SC) to lead the panel.

Gowdy on Wednesday called on other Republicans to refrain from fundraising off Benghazi because he said the issue “transcends politics.” Yet just minutes prior to his comments, the National Republican Congressional Committee (NRCC) sent out a fundraising email using Gowdy and his committee as the hook. “You’re now a Benghazi Watchdog. Let’s go after Obama and Hillary Clinton,” it says, offering readers an opportunity to donate.

Gowdy later said the NRCC should stop the campaign. “I cannot and will not raise money on Benghazi,” he told CNN’s Jake Tapper.

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