Fox's Powers Attacks Biden For Something He Didn't Say

Fox's Kirsten Powers dreamed up an alternate meaning for Vice President Joe Biden's statement that the White House didn't know about requests for additional security for the diplomatic compound in Benghazi. But a security adviser has confirmed that Biden's comments were accurate.

During the October 11 vice presidential debate, ABC's Martha Raddatz questioned Biden about requests for additional security at the U.S. compound in Benghazi prior to the September 11 attack. Biden told Raddatz, “We weren't told [the Benghazi consulate] wanted more security again. We did not know they wanted more security again.”

On today's edition of Fox's Happening Now, Powers said, purporting to know Biden's intended use of the word “we,” “I guess the defense now is that the White House didn't know. But when Joe Biden says 'we' didn't know, he's saying the administration didn't know. And we know that that's false.” Referring to an October 10 congressional hearing on the attack, Powers added, “We know that from the hearing.”

But a deputy national security adviser had already confirmed Biden was correct. Foreign Policy's blog The Cable reached out to Ben Rhodes, the deputy national security adviser for communications, and reported that “Rhodes said that Biden speaks only for himself and the president” -- not for every administration official -- “and neither of them knew about the requests at the time.”

Indeed, officials never testified that they made security requests directly to the White House, but said they contacted the State Department. Rhodes pointed out that this was “natural because the State Department is responsible for diplomatic security, not the White House.”