Long overdue

Former Attorney General Michael Mukasey writes in the Wall Street Journal about the continuing obfuscation by the federal government about Benghazi.

Nakoula Basseley Nakoula was arrested in the middle of the night in the glare of TV lights for a probation violation—the only arrest thus far growing out of the Benghazi attack, even though the identity and whereabouts of the principal suspects, one of whom is an alumnus of Guantanamo Bay, have long been known.

The Kabuki of a House intelligence hearing—with the witness delivering prepared remarks and committee members keeping one eye on the television cameras and relying on small staffs with many other responsibilities, questioning in five-minute bursts—is not suited to the sustained and focused effort necessary to test a witness's story and to pursue leads, even for members who wish to conduct a serious inquiry. The rules of Congress permit the appointment of a select committee to investigate a particular topic when circumstances warrant—a committee staffed for the job and with no other mandate. Notwithstanding Secretary Clinton's immortal "what difference at this point does it make?," the creation of such a committee is overdue.