Fox Drags Another Obama Official Into Manufactured Benghazi Scandal
Written by Zachary Pleat
Published
Fox News suggested that national security adviser Tom Donilon is unfit for his position by accusing him of being missing during the night of terrorist attacks on U.S. diplomatic facilities in Benghazi, Libya. In fact, congressional testimony showed that Donilon was in contact with then-Secretary of State Hillary Clinton throughout the night of the attacks.
On May 30, Fox & Friends co-host Brian Kilmeade stated that “no one seemed to know where [Donilon] was” during the September 11, 2012, attacks in Benghazi, asking, “Where was he that night?” Kilmeade questioned Donilon's presence despite showing a photo of Donilon attending a briefing of President Obama on the Benghazi attack in the White House that day. On-screen text during the segment asked, “Where was Donilon on night of Benghazi?”
Kilmeade repeated the false claim that Obama was missing that night as well. Beyond Donilon's presence during a White House briefing of the president on the Benghazi attacks, Clinton said in congressional testimony in January that she was in contact with both Obama and Donilon throughout the night of the attacks:
CLINTON: I spoke to the national security adviser, Tom Donilon, several times. I briefed him on developments. I sought all possible support from the White House, which they quickly provided. Tom was my first call.
[...]
So it was a constant, ongoing discussion and sets of meetings. I spoke with President Obama later in the evening, to, you know, bring him up to date, to hear his perspective. Obviously, we kept talking with everyone during the night. Early in the morning, on the 12th, I spoke with General Dempsey, again, with Tom Donilon.
Additionally, Gen. Martin Dempsey, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, testified before Congress in February that the president's “staff was engaged with the national military command center pretty constantly through the period” of the attacks.