Republican Congressman Goes On Fox To Call Out Repeat Benghazi Hoaxster

Written by Ellie Sandmeyer

Published

UPDATE: Kris Paronto, one of the security contractors Toensing mentioned on Fox and a co-author of the book 13 Hours, responded to her allegations on Twitter:

ORIGINAL POST:

House Intelligence Committee Chairman Mike Rogers (R-MI) called out Fox News' favorite Benghazi lawyer, Victoria Toensing, for her “unfortunate” and untrue allegations about the 2012 attacks and subsequent investigations.

Fox & Friends invited Toensing on its September 9 program to weigh in on the network's latest attempt to revive the repeatedly debunked myth of a “stand down” order issued to three CIA security personnel in Benghazi.

Toensing dismissed the fact that both the House Intelligence Committee and various investigations determined that no such stand down order was issued, claiming the State Department had worked to undermine and “vilif[y]” the security personnel and Benghazi witnesses. According to Toensing, Republicans on the House Intelligence Committee “harassed” the security contractors when they gave their testimony on Benghazi, pressuring them not to write about their experiences.

Rep. Mike Rogers, chair of the House Intelligence Committee, shot down Toensing's accusations in a later segment on Fox & Friends. Rogers debunked the notion of any stand down order, and though he refrained from mentioning Toensing by name, he called out “lawyers who have a financial interest in this, certainly making allegations that are far from true.” Rogers went on:

ROGERS: As I said, I hope everybody buys [the security contractors'] book, because these are very brave souls who served their country proudly, who ended up driving into unknown circumstances and saved them. That's all really good. And so, the only way that people buy the book is with some inflammatory comments. These are attorneys who have a financial stake in this. And it's unfortunate. The facts will -- we've asked that these transcripts be released, and I think that'll tell the truth. I think Americans can look at that and find out what was the real truth.

Toensing is well-known to be an unreliable source, previously criticized as lacking “impartiality, non-partisanship, and professionalism.”