Reid on Senate Benghazi Committee: 'Won't Be One'

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) confirmed outside of a policy luncheon on the Hill today that there will not be an upper chamber component to the House’s select committee on Benghazi.

“Won’t be one. Keep in mind, there’s no conspiracy here. It was a tragedy. It’s my understanding they have 25,000 pages of documents. There’s been numerous hearings on this already. The State Department did an extensive review. A number of those things they’ve requested that came up in the committees that’s already been implemented,” Reid told reporters.

“And now the latest smoking gun is a memo preparing people to go on the Sunday shows. Don’t you think everybody gets some preparation before they go on the Sunday shows? So the answer is no, we’re not going to do any select special committee over here on Benghazi.”

Reid also went to bat for VA Secretary Eric Shinseki in the wake of the American Legion and Concerned Veterans for America calling for his resignation.

“He is a fine man. He’s a disabled veteran from the Vietnam Conflict. Chairman Sanders talked today in our caucus about the great work that he’s done. The issue that came up in Phoenix, these are allegations and there will be a complete investigation about what’s gone on,” the majority leader said of the waitlist deaths uncovered in a CNN probe.

“Whether there’s substance to it or not, I don’t know, but it certainly doesn’t call for the general to resign. He’s been given a tremendous burden. We have millions of veterans who are coming back from Iraq and Afghanistan. They have the most severe injuries by large magnitude because of the way we have taken care of these troops on the battlefield,” Reid continued.

“And in addition to that, we have the — about 20 percent of the people coming back have post-traumatic stress syndrome. He has a tremendous burden. And in addition to that, we’ve ordered him through legislation to change how they keep records. So he’s trying to do all this.”

Reid found an opening for his daily Koch brothers reference when asked about recent polls showing an unfavorable political climate for congressional Democrats in this midterm election season.

“We have polls, polls, polls. We have polls separated by one day that are totally different. So, I know where my candidates are around the country. I have information. I am briefed by the Campaign Committee very often. And in spite of the huge dollars spent by the Koch brothers, trying to help the top 1 percent, but at the top of that 1 percent are the two Koch brothers trying to help themselves,” he said. “In spite of all that, we are in a position I think that is quite good. We’re ahead virtually all over the country, and I don’t need to run through the states with you, but we’re doing OK.”