Limbaugh: Ambassador Stevens Had "No Security" At Benghazi Consulate. During the September 21 edition of his Premiere Radio Networks' program, Rush Limbaugh claimed that Ambassador Chris Stevens had "no security -- none." [Premiere Radio Networks, The Rush Limbaugh Show, 9/21/12, via Media Matters]

FACT: There Were Multiple Teams Of Armed Guards At Libyan Consulate

WSJ: Consulate Security Included "A Four-Man Team Of Armed Guards Protecting The Perimeter" And "Five Armed State Department Diplomatic Security Officers." A September 21 Wall Street Journal article reported that security at the Libyan consulate included "a four-man team of armed guards protecting the perimeter and four unarmed Libyan guards inside to screen visitors." The Journal also noted: "Besides the four armed Libyans outside, five armed State Department diplomatic security officers were at the consulate." [The Wall Street Journal, 9/21/12]

WSJ: Prior To Attacks, "Embassy Personnel Conducted A Security Review." The same Wall Street Journal article reported that a security review was conducted right before the attacks on the consulate:

In the days before Sept. 11, intelligence agencies issued their annual warning of heightened security risks around the anniversary of the 2001 attacks. Many counterterrorism officials saw a lessened risk this year than last year, which was the 10th anniversary and the first one after the killing of Osama bin Laden.

In Libya, embassy personnel conducted a security review right before the anniversary. It determined there was no reason to think an attack was planned or the consulate in Benghazi was "insufficiently postured," said a senior administration official. [The Wall Street Journal, 9/21/12]

FACT: FBI Is Investigating Libya Attack, And State Dept. Panel Is Conducting Independent Inquiry

Press Secretary Jay Carney On Sept. 12: Benghazi Attack "Is Under Investigation." The day after the attack on the U.S. consulate in Libya, press secretary Jay Carney told reporters that the violence was already "being investigated" and that "as we find out information that can be made available I'm sure we will." From Carney's statements:




Van Susteren: "Incompetence, Or Cover-Up, Or Something Else?" During Fox News' On the Record, host Greta van Susteren said, after showing a montage of clips related to the attacks, "Why does the Obama administration keep changing its tune? Incompetence, or cover-up, or something else?" [Fox News, On the Record with Greta van Susteren, 9/20/12]

FACT: FBI Is Investigating Libya Attack, And State Dept. Panel Is Conducting Independent Inquiry

Press Secretary Jay Carney On Sept. 12: Benghazi Attack "Is Under Investigation." The day after the attack on the U.S. consulate in Libya, press secretary Jay Carney told reporters that the violence was already "being investigated" and that "as we find out information that can be made available I'm sure we will." From Carney's statements:


CARNEY: It's too early for us to make that judgment [that Benghazi attacks were planned and premeditated]. I think -- I know that this is being investigated, and we're working with the Libyan government to investigate the incident. So I would not want to speculate on that at this time.

[...]

I want to be careful about making statements that are based on speculation about this incident and its causes. It's under investigation, obviously, and as we find out information that can be made available I'm sure we will. [Press gaggle, 9/12/12]

Attorney General Holder Cut Trip Short To Manage FBI's Libya Probe. On September 13, the Associated Press reported that Attorney General Eric Holder ended a trip to the Middle East early, skipping stops in Saudi Arabia and Turkey, to return to the U.S. to manage the investigation. The AP wrote, "The attorney general's change in plans followed remarks he made Thursday in Doha, Qatar, that the FBI has opened a full investigation into the deaths and the attack on the consulate." [Associated Press, 9/13/12]

Ambassador Rice: "I Do Think It's Important For The American People To Know Our Best Current Assessment." On September 16 during Fox News Sunday, U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Susan Rice noted that the investigation into the Benghazi violence was ongoing and briefed host Chris Wallace on the latest information:


WALLACE: Let's talk about the attack on the U.S. consulate in Benghazi this week that killed four Americans including Ambassador Chris Stevens. A top Libyan official now says that the attack on that consulate, on Tuesday, was quote, his words: "Pre-planned." Al-Qaeda says the operation was revenge for our killing a top Al-Qaeda leader.

RICE: Well, first of all, Chris, we are obviously investigating this very closely. The FBI has a lead in this investigation. The information, the best information and the best assessment we have today is that in fact this was not a preplanned, premeditated attack. That what happened initially was that it was a spontaneous reaction to what had just transpired in Cairo as a consequence of the video. People gathered outside the embassy and then it grew very violent. Those with extremist ties joined the fray and came with heavy weapons, which unfortunately are quite common in post-revolutionary Libya and that then spun out of control.

But we don't see at this point signs this was a coordinated plan, premeditated attack. Obviously, we will wait for the results of the investigation and we don't want to jump to conclusions before then. But I do think it's important for the American people to know our best current assessment. [Fox Broadcasting, Fox News Sunday, via Media Matters, 9/16/12]

Director Of National Counterterrorism Center Testified At Senate Committee Hearing About The Attack. On September 19, director of the National Counterterrorism Center Matt Olsen informed lawmakers about information obtained in the investigation. From The Washington Post:
No Conspiracy, No Lies, No Coverup!

The U.S. ambassador and three other Americans killed last week in Libya died "in the course of a terrorist attack," a senior U.S. intelligence official told lawmakers Wednesday.

Matthew Olsen, director of the National Counterterrorism Center, repeated earlier statements by the Obama administration that initial conclusions do not point to a planned assault. Instead, he said, "the facts that we have now indicate that ts was an opportunistic attack," in which heavily armed militants took advantage of an ongoing demonstration at the U.S. Consulate in Benghazi.

But Olsen went beyond those conclusions to say that the people involved in the violent assault appeared to have come from several militant groups, including localized extremists in eastern Libya as well as affiliates of al-Qaeda.

"The picture that is emerging is one where a number of different individuals were involved, so it's not necessarily an either/or proposition," Olsen told a hearing of the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee. [The Washington Post, 9/19/12]

Secretary of State Hillary Clinton: State Dept. Launching Independent Inquiry Into Consulate Attacks. From The Washington Post:

The State Department is opening a new inquiry into the attack on a diplomatic post in Libya that killed four Americans, Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton said Thursday.

[...]

The inquiry announced by Clinton will be carried out by an independent four-member panel chaired by retired diplomat Thomas Pickering. The panel, required by law, will look at whether security procedures were adequate at the U.S. Consulate in Benghazi and make recommendations to the secretary of state. Pickering was once the boss of U.S. Ambassador J. Christopher Stevens, who was killed in the Benghazi attack last week, along with another diplomat and two security personnel. [The Washington Post, 9/20/12]