State Department Spokesperson Victoria Nuland reiterated today that Secretary of State Hillary Clinton will not be testifying on a Benghazi report before congressional committees later this week because of a concussion she reportedly sustained after fainting from dehydration. According to Nuland, Clinton has sent letters to the heads of the House and Senate foreign affairs committees, apologizing for her absence.
When pressed on whether Clinton will testify after she’s recovered, Nuland hedged a bit before saying that Clinton has made if clear that if there is an “ongoing conversation in January” that she’s “available for that.”
If President Obama announces John Kerry’s nomination for secretary of state this week, as expected, the confirmation hearings could begin in early January, which would immediately tie up the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. In other words, Congress is unlikely to hear any testimony from Clinton on Benghazi, ever. Since she’s managed to avoid testifying about Benghazi at any point, that means Clinton–who once said she alone was responsible for the security lapses at the diplomatic mission–will walk away from the whole debacle without a scratch. Somewhere, Susan Rice has got to be shaking her head at the injustice of it all.