Today is one of the most important days of Hillary Clinton's political career, as the Democratic presidential candidate will face grilling for as much as eight hours potentially over the 2012 terror attack on the diplomatic outpost in Benghazi, Libya, that claimed the lives of four Americans, including U.S. Ambassador Chris Stevens.
Questions about the attack and whether Clinton, as secretary of state, should have heeded warnings and provided more security for Americans there abroad have been fodder for GOP attacks for some time.
But the House Select Committee on Benghazi has come under even more political scrutiny lately. Some Republicans — including House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy — have said the committee succeeded in bringing down the Democratic presidential hopeful's poll numbers.
Now, more than ever, Select Committee Chairman Trey Gowdy, R-S.C., will be under pressure to show the legitimacy of the committee's investigation and purpose.
Whatever Clinton says, along with how she acts and responds, will be heavily parsed and be even more material for GOP attack ads.
The committee consists of 12 members — seven Republicans and five Democrats. Following opening statements by Gowdy and Ranking Member Elijah Cummings, D-Md., Clinton will make her opening statements. Then, each member will get 10 minutes to ask questions, per round. But the testimony and questions could go several rounds, meaning that the proceedings may not wrap up until very late.
NPR's Tamara Keith has a full preview here. We'll be liveblogging the day's proceedings until 6 p.m. ET.
Copyright 2015 NPR. To see more, visit http://www.npr.org/.
