A Hearing, and a House, as Divided as the Country Watching It

By AMY CHOZICK, NYT
OCT. 22, 2015

WASHINGTON — There were accusations by Republicans of a State Department cover-up. There were critiques by Democrats that the other side had spread conspiracy theories about the 2012 attack on the United States Mission in Benghazi, Libya, for political gain.

And in the middle of it, there was Hillary Rodham Clinton, looking at her notes.

“I can pause while you’re reading your notes from your staff,” Representative Peter Roskam, Republican of Illinois, said as he questioned Mrs. Clinton about the events surrounding the attack.

“I can do more than one thing at a time, Congressman,” she replied, saying the next time he paused, “I’m waiting for a question.”

“Go ahead, you finish reading and I’ll start talking,” the congressman replied.

Mrs. Clinton’s discipline and steely demeanor, bordering on dismissive at times, disarmed and irritated congressional Republicans as they questioned her handling of Libya as secretary of state, her response to the Benghazi attack and her frequent contacts with Sidney Blumenthal, a Clinton adviser who had been barred by the White House from working at the State Department.

(More here.)