Our View: Keep up questions on Libya

Don’t let up in the push for accountability.

That must be the message to Congress in the wake of last week’s closed-door hearings involving former CIA Director David Petraeus and the deadly Sept. 11 attack on the U.S. consulate in Libya.

According to lawmakers present when the retired general addressed intelligence panels Thursday and Friday, Petraeus immediately believed the attack was a terrorist attack, even though the Obama administration first described it differently.

The Associated Press reported lawmakers said Petraeus testified that the CIA’s talking points written in response to the assault on the diplomat post in Benghazi that killed four Americans referred to it as a terrorist attack. But Petraeus told the lawmakers it was removed by other federal agencies who made changes to the CIA’s draft.

Based on testimony, it would appear those changes were made before information was provided to the White House. That is especially interesting given President Barack Obama’s administration initially attributed the attack to extremists reacting to an anti-Islamic documentary made in the United States. As critics have relentlessly pointed out, U.N. Ambassador Susan Rice was still using that explanation five days after the initial attacks.

Testimony from Petraeus, though, could indicate Rice and the White House did not know the CIA’s original report that terrorism was the motivation.

As the AP reported, Rep. Adam Schiff, D-Calif., said Petraeus disputed Republican suggestions that the White House misled the public. “The general was adamant there was no politicization of the process, no White House interference or political agenda,” Schiff said. “He completely debunked that idea.”

Rep. Peter King, R-N.Y., told reporters Petraeus said he did not know who removed the reference to terrorism.

Which is one of many reasons lawmakers should not let up with these hearings and more investigations. If the CIA did not remove information being sent to the White House, which agency did? Why? And who should be held accountable for such deliberate deception?

Similarly, King said Friday that his recollection of testimony from Petraeus at a Sept. 14 House briefing was that the general was far from convinced it was a terrorist attack at that time. Even from Central Minnesota, it’s clear King is implying a lack of trust in Petraeus.

Again, keep digging, Congress. What do notes from the briefing show? What do other lawmakers present remember?

The attack in Libya was horrific, magnified even more by deceiving the public about it. Congress shouldn’t rest until people are held accountable.