Dems Walk Out Before Parents of Benghazi Victims Testify

by Tony Lee 

On Thursday, all but two Democrats on the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee walked out before the parents of two of the victims killed in the Benghazi attacks testified. 

Patricia Smith, the mother of Sean Smith, and Charles Woods, the father of Ty Woods, spoke after the committee questioned the heads of the Benghazi Accountability Review Board (ARB) and the Independent Panel of Best Practices.
But among Democrats, only Reps. Elijah Cummings (D-MD), the ranking member on the committee, and Jackie Speier (D-CA) stayed to hear Woods and Smith.
Rep. Darrell Issa (R-CA), the chair of the committee, tweeted a picture of the empty seats:
Democrats who reportedly left the hearing include: Reps. Carolyn Maloney (D-NY); Danny Davis (D-IL); Gerald Connolly (D-VA); Jim Cooper (D-TN); John Tierney (D-MA); Mark Pocan (D-WI); Matt Cartwright (D-PA); Michelle Lujan Grisham (D-NM); Peter Welch (D-VT); Stephen Lynch (D-MA); Steven Horsford (D-NV); Tammy Duckworth (D-IL); Tony Cardenas (D-CA); William Lacy Clay (D-MO); and Del. Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-DC).