Congressman Peter Roskam (R-IL) told Greta Van Susteren on Monday that former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has only turned over 300 emails to the Benghazi Select Committee and said there are “significant gaps” at “pivotal times” in the investigation.
“When it comes down to it, we’ve got to get these emails,” Roskam said. “And the emails are the key to understand the truth about what happened in Benghazi and there’s one person that stands between us, as the Benghazi Select Committee, and the American people, and the truth about Benghazi as it relates to those emails and that one person is the former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.”
Van Susteren disagreed. “You have dropped a subpoena on her, right? So there is nothing that stands between — now that you have the subpoena, those should be yours.”
Roskam said, “The State Department had been basically underselling for the past couple of months, creating a sense of false impression with the Benghazi Select Committee that ‘We’ve given you everything we have,’ when in fact, it turns out that only 300 emails have been forthcoming from Secretary Clinton.”
Van Susteren asked about Chairman Trey Gowdy’s statement about gaps in the emails. Gowdy said on Face the Nation Sunday that “there are gaps of months, and months, and months” in the emails Clinton has provided to the Benghazi Select Committee.
“So, there are gaps in terms of timing, gaps as much as two months, other gaps of several weeks, so yes, I can confirm that,” Roskam said. “And these are gaps at pivotal times when you would expect that there would be a great deal of activity.” He added that there are “very significant gaps and it’s an incredible thing to say that there’s no communication. That’s not credible.”
Greta suggested that perhaps Clinton “went off email” because “it was such an important time.”
“Come on,” Roskam responded. “Secretary Clinton has control of these emails. Secretary Clinton has the ability to come forward,” he said. “There are numerous voices on both sides of the aisle that are sounding more and more incredulous, frankly, the idea that the secretary of State is just going to sit on this information.”
Van Susteren again disagreed about which side should have the upper hand in the legal wrangling over the emails. “You should have those. You should have control of them. I think you have to understand a subpoena means you get them,” she said.
“I appreciate that and I understand the legal distinction you’re making,” said Congressman Roskam, who is also an attorney. “They are in her physical custody at this point in time and we’ve got to make sure that she relinquishes that physical custody.”
“Alright, if you had any question about whether she was going to do anything to them you could forthwith a subpoena,” Van Susteren said. “Look, if Congress really wants to step this up, Congress could step it up — if it wants to. Maybe it doesn’t feel the need to, for whatever reason. If you want those, you can have them.”
Rep. Gowdy told Megyn Kelly on Monday night that his committee “does not have the power to seize tangible, physical items like a car, or a server,” but he said “the House itself does, though that’s an open constitutional question.” Gowdy said he intends to give Clinton” the opportunity to produce that server to a neutral, independent arbiter — a federal judge, an archivist, an inspector general.”
“I am of like mind and I am echoing Chairman Gowdy on this,” Roskam told Van Susteren. “We intend to pursue every legal means to get this subpoena — to get those emails — because we think those emails are absolutely part of the key to figuring out what happened during those events.”
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