Benghazi Democrats Debunk GOP Claims on Security Emails

Ahead of former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton's testimony Thursday before the special committee investigating the 2012 Benghazi attacks, Democrats on the panel Tuesday debunked claims by Republicans that no one in Congress saw the emails of Ambassador Christopher Stevens requesting additional security before the assaults.

Stevens died in the attacks at the U.S. Consulate in Libya along with three other Americans, including two former Navy SEALs.

The Benghazi committee's Republican chairman, South Carolina Rep. Trey Gowdy, said on CBS' "Face the Nation" on Sunday that "none of the seven previous committees bothered to access the emails of our ambassador."

Similar claims were made by panel Republican Reps. Mike Pompeo of Kansas and Lynn Westmoreland of Georgia in recent days.

Five congressional committees are investigating the Benghazi attacks.

"Congress has had access to many of Ambassador Stevens' emails for years," Benghazi committee Democrats said in a statement. "Although some additional emails from Ambassador Stevens have been produced, none of them include any evidence to change the core fact that was already known: Secretary Clinton was not involved in responding to requests for additional security in Benghazi."

For instance, the State Department provided emails from Stevens among the 25,000 pages of documents turned over to the Benghazi committee in November and December, the Democrats said.

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