Clinton confidante at center of Benghazi damage-control tied to probe of suspected diplomat crimes

fshnski Thu Jun 13, 2013 4:54 pm

A longtime confidante of Bill Clinton and Hillary Rodham Clinton who reportedly played a key role in the State Department’s damage-control efforts on the Benghazi attack last year is also named in accusations that department higher-ups quashed investigations into diplomats’ potential criminal activity.
Cheryl Mills, who served in a dual capacity in recent years as general counsel and chief of staff to Mrs. Clinton as secretary of state, was accused of attempting to stifle congressional access to a diplomat who held a senior post in Libya at the time of the attack.

Now she has become the closest member of Mrs. Clinton’s inner circle to have her name appear in an internal State Department Office of Inspector General memo at the heart of this week’s scandal.
The memo, believed to have been based on anonymous complaints from rank-and-file agents in the State Department’s Bureau of Diplomatic Security that arose during a 2012 inspector general’s review of the bureau, has sent shock waves through Foggy Bottom since becoming public Monday.
At its core, the document outlines a variety of cases in which high-ranking department officials quashed internal investigations into accusations of sexual assault, drug dealing, solicitation of sexual favors from prostitutes and minors, and other improper activity against American diplomatic personnel overseas.
The State Department has vigorously criticized the memo. Spokeswoman Jennifer Psaki told reporters repeatedly this week that the accusations are “unsubstantiated.”

Read more: http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2013/jun/13/clinton-confidante-is-tied-to-probe-into-suspected/#ixzz2W8EqoEaL