Rand Paul: Hillary Failed Her Own '3 a.m.' Moment in Benghazi

Hillary Clinton faced her own "3 a.m. moment" with the attacks on the Benghazi, Libya diplomatic outpost, GOP candidate Rand Paul said Friday, and she left Ambassador Chris Stevens "defenseless."

"I think in this case, specifically requests were made for more security and they were denied, and that is on Hillary Clinton's watch," the Kentucky Republican senator told CNN "New Day" co-host Alisyn Camerota.

In 2008, when Clinton was running for president against then-Sen. Barack Obama, she said in now-famous ad that she'd be there "for the 3 a.m. moment" when the emergency call came, said Paul.

"When she was called, didn't provide adequate security in Benghazi," Paul said. "She's never getting away from that. I think it will preclude her from being commander in chief."

Clinton testified on Thursday to the House Select Committee on Benghazi that requests for additional security were handled at a lower level in the State Department, but Paul insisted that as she was in charge of the department, "she's in charge of all of that."

"When you are president of the United States there are a lot of people that work for you, but ultimately if we go to war, the president is to blame," the senator said. "They deserve credit and blame because they are in charge."

And while ultimately, terrorists are responsible for such attacks, and in this case "requests were made for more security and they were denied and that is on Hillary Clinton's watch."

But as an advocate of smaller government, Paul said he does not see the ongoing committee meetings, which have gone on for some 18 months at a cost of $4.5 million and climbing, as a waste of time or money.

The United States needs to know that when it has an overseas mission, it must be defended, said Paul, and under Clinton's watch, countless requests for help were made and denied.

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