The deal, announced by a campaign spokesman, would have had Hillary Clinton testify in a public session October 22 before lawmakers examining the deaths of a U.S. ambassador and three other Americans in the attack on the diplomatic facility in Libya.
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Her acceptance came the same day that new questions emerged about her use of a personal email server for official State Department business.
The announcement, per The Washington Post, follows months of back-and-forth between the GOP-led committee and Clinton over her actions surrounding the attack. Prior to that announcement, the Times made small but significant changes to its copy, and a high-ranking congressman said the Inspector General’s request was about something entirely different.
Clinton had offered to testify publicly, leaving at issue the timing and the scope of questions from the committee, headed by Rep. Trey Gowdy (R-S.C.).
Clinton’s allies have accused Gowdy of intentionally extending the inquiry into 2016 and the heat of presidential contest.
“The argument is over ‘this should have been done, ‘ or ‘this now should be done.’ That has nothing to do with me”, says Clinton. Clinton, the Democratic presidential frontrunner, is now trailing the top Republican candidates in several key swing states, including Colorado, Iowa and Virginia. The information was classified at the time the emails were sent, according to the inspector general, Charles McCullough. “I did not send nor receive anything that was classified at the time”, she said.
It was not immediately clear whether the Justice Department would investigate the potential compromise highlighted by the intelligence inspector general.
Gowdy had asked Clinton to testify before the committee about her use of personal email address and server. But they have also told the reporters they are confident Clinton would be able to successfully handle the committee hearing.
The aim is for the department to unveil all of 55,000 pages of the emails she turned over by January 29, 2016.
“We are all accountable to the American people to get the facts right, and I will do my part”, Clinton said.
Clinton’s email arrangement fell under new scrutiny Friday after a spate of reports suggested she had been referred to the Justice Department for a criminal investigation.
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McCullough’s office has confirmed it has asked the Justice Department to look into how the State Department handled the classification of documents, but emphasized it was not requesting a criminal investigation.
