After Meeting with Rice, Graham 'More Disturbed Than I Was Before'

NOTE: This article was updated after its original publication to include Sen. Graham's statement.

South Carolina Senator Lindsey Graham spoke to the media after his meeting with Ambassador to the United Nation Susan Rice and said he was "more disturbed" by what happened during the Benghazi attacks on September 11. The attacks killed four Americans, including the Ambassador to Libya, Christopher Stevens.

Graham also criticized the intelligence committee, but for security reasons did not go into detail as to what was said in his meeting with Rice.

Later on Tuesday afternoon, Graham released the following statement:

“We respectfully disagree with the White House’s statement today that ‘there are no unanswered questions’ about Ambassador Rice’s September 16 Sunday show appearances and the talking points she used. 

“Around 10:00 this morning in a meeting requested by Ambassador Rice, accompanied by acting CIA Director Mike Morell, we asked Mr. Morell who changed the unclassified talking points to remove references to al-Qaeda. In response, Mr. Morell said the FBI removed the references and did so to prevent compromising an ongoing criminal investigation. We were surprised by this revelation and the reasoning behind it.

“However, at approximately 4:00 this afternoon, CIA officials contacted us and indicated that Acting Director Morell misspoke in our earlier meeting. The CIA now says that it deleted the al-Qaeda references, not the FBI. They were unable to give a reason as to why.

“We are disturbed by the Administration’s continued inability to answer even the most basic questions about the Benghazi attack and the Administration’s response. 

“Beyond Ambassador Rice’s misstatements, we continue to have questions about what happened in Benghazi before, during, and after the attack on our consulate – as well as the President’s statements regarding the attack.

“Perhaps most important, we also need to understand why the U.S. military was unable to respond within seven hours to save American lives in Benghazi and why our consulate was left so unsecure despite a series of previous attacks. 

In more than a dozen letters, we and other Senators have repeatedly requested that the Administration provide answers to our questions. Yet, today most of them remain unanswered. We eagerly await their response.”

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