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From Benghazi to E-Mails: Two Sides of the Same Scandal

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Book cover The 2016 US Presidential Campaign

Part of the book series: Political Campaigning and Communication ((PCC))

Abstract

This chapter argues that the Benghazi and e-mail scandals were no exception to the American political scandal narrative. Dewberry describes the American political scandal narrative and recounts the Benghazi attack. He focuses on how scandals related to Benghazi followed the scandal narrative in both the 2012 and 2016 presidential elections. Both attempts at scandal unfolded in a similar manner as other historical political scandals. Although both attempts failed to reveal a cover-up, Dewberry addresses the nature of the narrative as reflecting the use of scandals as a discursive political weapon.

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Notes

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    “Election 2016: Democratic Debate Transcript: Clinton, Sanders, O’Malley in Iowa,” CBS News, November 14, 2015, accessed December 18, 2015, http://www.cbsnews.com/news/democratic-debate-transcript-clinton-sanders-omalley-in-iowa.

  2. 2.

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  3. 3.

    W. Lance Bennett, “Myth, Ritual, and Political Control,” Journal of Communication 30 (1980): 166–179, 166.

  4. 4.

    David R. Dewberry, The American Political Scandal: Free Speech, Public Discourse, and Democracy (Lanham, MD: Rowman & Littlefield, 2015).

  5. 5.

    Barbara Goldberg and Chris Francescani, “Maker of Anti-Islam Film Goes into Hiding: Report,” Reuters, September 12, 2012, accessed December 18, 2015, http://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-libya-film-hiding-idUSBRE88B0XK20120912.

  6. 6.

    “What They Said, Before and After the Attack in Libya,” New York Times, September 12, 2012, accessed December 18, 2015, http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2012/09/12/us/politics/libya-statements.html.

  7. 7.

    Hugh Rawson and Margaret Miner, The Oxford Dictionary of American Quotations (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2006), s.v. “Watergate.”

  8. 8.

    “What They Said, Before and After the Attack in Libya,” New York Times, September 12, 2012, accessed December 18, 2015, http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2012/09/12/us/politics/libya-statements.html.

  9. 9.

    Mitt Romney, No Apology: The Case for American Greatness (New York: St. Martin’s, 2010).

  10. 10.

    Phillip Rucker, “Romney Repeats Sharp Criticism of Obama after Benghazi, Cairo Attacks,” Washington Post, September 12, 2012, accessed December 18, 2015, https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/decision2012/romney-repeats-sharp-criticism-of-obama-on-libya-egypt-attacks/2012/09/12/31074af4-fcdf-11e1-b153-218509a954e1_story.html?hpid=z2.

  11. 11.

    “The Death of an Ambassador,” Washington Post, September 12, 2012, accessed December 18, 2015, https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/the-death-of-an-ambassador/2012/09/12/ed3b719e-fcfa-11e1-b153-218509a954e1_story.html.

  12. 12.

    Bruce Gronbeck, “The Rhetoric of Political Corruption,” Quarterly Journal of Speech 64 (1978): 155–172, 165.

  13. 13.

    Elise Labott, “Clinton: I’m Responsible for Diplomats’ Security,” CNN, October 16, 2012, accessed December 18, 2015, http://www.cnn.com/2012/10/15/us/clinton-benghazi.

  14. 14.

    Michael Pearson, “What the Obama Administration Has Said about the Libya Attack,” CNN, May 9, 2013, accessed December 18, 2015, http://www.cnn.com/2013/05/08/politics/libya-attack-statements-2013.

  15. 15.

    Rep. Howard P. “Buck” McKeon, Rep. Ed Royce, Rep. Bob Goodlatte, Rep. Darrell Issa, and Rep. Mike Rogers, Interim Progress Report for the Members of the House Republican Conference on the Events Surrounding the September 11, 2012 Terrorist Attacks in Benghazi, Libya, accessed December 18, 2015, https://goodlatte.house.gov/system/uploads/229/original/Libya-Progress-Report.pdf.

  16. 16.

    William Safire, Safire’s Political Dictionary (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2008), s.v. “Mistakes Were Made”.

  17. 17.

    Bradley Klapper and Donna Cassata, “House Votes to Start New Benghazi Investigation,” Associated Press, May 9, 2014, accessed December 18, 2015, http://bigstory.ap.org/article/house-set-approve-select-benghazi-investigation.

  18. 18.

    Bradley Klapper and Donna Cassata, “House Votes to Start New Benghazi Investigation,” Associated Press, May 9, 2014, accessed December 18, 2015, http://bigstory.ap.org/article/house-set-approve-select-benghazi-investigation.

  19. 19.

    Steve Holland, “Hillary Clinton Leaving World Stage, But for How Long?” Reuters, January 16, 2013, accessed December 18, 2015, http://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-politics-hillary-idUSBRE90F0A820130116.

  20. 20.

    Ibid.

  21. 21.

    Michael Schmidt, “Hillary Clinton Used Personal Email Account at State Dept., Possibly Breaking Rules,” New York Times, March 2, 2015, accessed December 18, 2015, http://www.nytimes.com/2015/03/03/us/politics/hillary-clintons-use-of-private-email-at-state-department-raises-flags.html.

  22. 22.

    Ibid.

  23. 23.

    Ibid.

  24. 24.

    Michael Schmidt, “Hillary Clinton Asks State Department to Vet Emails for Release,” New York Times, March 5, 2015, accessed December 18, 2015, http://www.nytimes.com/2015/03/06/us/politics/hillary-clinton-asks-state-dept-to-review-emails-for-public-release.html?ref=politics&_r=0.

  25. 25.

    Alan Rappeport, “As Hillary Clinton Stays Quiet about Private Emails, Republicans Seize Moment to Criticize Her,” New York Times, March 8, 2015, accessed December 18, 2015, http://www.nytimes.com/2015/03/09/us/politics/as-hillary-clinton-stays-quiet-about-private-emails-republicans-seize-moment-to-criticize-her.html.

  26. 26.

    Ibid.

  27. 27.

    Zeke Miller, “Here’s Everything Hillary Clinton Said on the Emails,” Time, March 10, 2015, accessed December 18, 2015, http://time.com/3739541/transcript-hillary-clinton-email-press-conference.

  28. 28.

    Ibid.

  29. 29.

    John B. Thompson, Political Scandal: Power and Visibility in the Media Age (Cambridge: Polity Press, 2000), 17–25.

  30. 30.

    Dewberry, The American Political Scandal, 97.

  31. 31.

    Michael Schmidt, “House Benghazi Committee Requests Hillary Clinton Email Server,” New York Times, March 20, 2015, accessed December 18, 2015, http://www.nytimes.com/politics/first-draft/2015/03/20/house-benghazi-committee-requests-hillary-clinton-email-server.

  32. 32.

    Nate Cohn, “Huge Head Start for Hillary Clinton, but the Big Race Is Far from Won,” New York Times, April 12, 2015, accessed December 18, 2015, http://www.nytimes.com/2015/04/13/upshot/huge-head-start-for-clinton-but-the-big-race-is-far-from-won.html.

  33. 33.

    Joseph Cameron and Adam Edelman, “Release of Benghazi Panel Final Report Delayed until 2016,” Daily News (New York), April 22, 2015, accessed December 18, 2015, http://www.nydailynews.com/news/politics/release-benghazi-panel-final-report-delayed-2016-article-1.2194246.

  34. 34.

    Michael Schmidt, “Criminal Inquiry Sought in Clinton’s Use of Email,” New York Times, July 24, 2015, A1.

  35. 35.

    Gronbeck, “The Rhetoric of Political Corruption,” 165.

  36. 36.

    Katie Habermas and Ashley Parker, “While Some Republicans Seize Chance to Attack Hillary Clinton, Others Refrain,” New York Times, July 26, 2015, accessed December 18, 2015, http://www.nytimes.com/2015/07/27/us/politics/while-some-republicans-seize-chance-to-attack-hillary-clinton-others-refrain.html; “Transcript: Republican Presidential Debate,” New York Times, December 15, 2015, accessed December 18, 2015, http://www.nytimes.com/2015/12/16/us/politics/transcript-main-republican-presidential-debate.html; Ashley Killough, “Jeb Bush Steps Up Attacks of Hillary Clinton over Emails,” CNN, August 12, 2015, accessed December 18, 2015, http://www.cnn.com/2015/08/12/politics/jeb-bush-hillary-clinton-email-server.

  37. 37.

    David Weigel, “Boehner’s Likely Successor Credits Benghazi Committee for Lowering Hillary Clinton’s Poll Numbers,” Washington Post, September 30, 2015, accessed December 18, 2015, https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/post-politics/wp/2015/09/30/boehners-likely-successor-credits-benghazi-committee-for-lowering-hillary-clintons-poll-numbers.

  38. 38.

    Michael Barbaro and Amy Chozick, “Hillary Clinton Turns Up Heat on Bernie Sanders in a Sharp Debate,” New York Times, October 13, 2015, accessed December 18, 2015, http://www.nytimes.com/2015/10/14/us/politics/hillary-clinton-turns-up-heat-on-bernie-sanders-in-a-sharp-debate.html.

  39. 39.

    Jason Easley, “Donald Trump and Jeb Bush Throw a Tantrum after Bernie Sanders Defends Clinton on Emails,” PoliticusUSA, October 14, 2015, accessed December 18, 2015, http://www.politicususa.com/2015/10/14/donald-trump-jeb-bush-throw-tantrum-bernie-sanders-defends-clinton-emails.html.

  40. 40.

    “Hillary Clinton and the Benghazi Gang,” New York Times, October 22, 2015, accessed December 18, 2015, http://www.nytimes.com/2015/10/23/opinion/hillary-clinton-and-the-benghazi-gang.html.

  41. 41.

    Jeremy Diamond, “Sanders: Clinton Emails ‘Very Serious Issue,’” CNN, January 31, 2016, accessed October 28, 2016, http://edition.cnn.com/2016/01/31/politics/bernie-sanders-hillary-clinton-emails-iowa/index.html.

  42. 42.

    David M. Herszenhorn, “House Democrats Release Benghazi Report to Blunt Republican Inquiry,” New York Times, June 27, 2016, accessed October 28, 2016, http://www.nytimes.com/2016/06/28/us/politics/house-democrats-benghazi-report.html.

  43. 43.

    Tom LoBianco, “Lynch: Clinton Email Probe Handled the Same as Any Other,” CNN, June 19, 2016, accessed October 28, 2016, http://www.cnn.com/2016/06/19/politics/loretta-lynch-hillary-clinton-email/.

  44. 44.

    “Statement by FBI Director James B. Comey on the Investigation of Secretary Hillary Clinton’s Use of a Personal E-Mail System,” FBI, July 5, 2016, accessed October 28, 2016, https://www.fbi.gov/news/pressrel/press-releases/statement-by-fbi-director-james-b-comey-on-the-investigation-of-secretary-hillary-clinton2019s-use-of-a-personal-e-mail-system.

  45. 45.

    Sean Sullivan, “‘Bribe,’ ‘Murder’ and the ‘Rigged’ System: How Trump Describes Hillary Clinton’s email Case,” July 6, 2016, accessed October 28, 2016, https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/post-politics/wp/2016/07/06/bribe-murder-and-the-rigged-system-how-trump-describes-hillary-clintons-email-case/.

  46. 46.

    Michael D. Shear and David E. Sanger, “Chris Christie Made a Case Against Hillary Clinton. We Fact-Checked,” New York Times, July 20, 2016, accessed October 28, 2016, http://www.nytimes.com/2016/07/20/us/politics/chris-christie-rnc.html.

  47. 47.

    Peter W. Stevenson, “A Brief History of the ‘Lock Her Up!’ Chant by Trump Supporters Against Clinton,” The Washington Post, November 22, 2016, accessed November 22, 2016, https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/the-fix/wp/2016/11/22/a-brief-history-of-the-lock-her-up-chant-as-it-looks-like-trump-might-not-even-try/.

  48. 48.

    Ibid.

  49. 49.

    Jeremy Diamond, “Trump on ‘Lock her up’ Chant: ‘I’m Starting to Agree,’” CNN, July 29, 2016, accessed October 28, 2016, http://www.cnn.com/2016/07/29/politics/donald-trump-lock-her-up/.

  50. 50.

    Aaron Blake, “The First Trump-Clinton Presidential Debate Transcript, Annotated,” The Washington Post, September 26, 2016, accessed October 28, 2016, https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/the-fix/wp/2016/09/26/the-first-trump-clinton-presidential-debate-transcript-annotated/.

  51. 51.

    “Transcript of the Second Debate,” New York Times, October 10, 2016, accessed October 28, 2016, http://www.nytimes.com/2016/10/10/us/politics/transcript-second-debate.html.

  52. 52.

    Sari Horwitz, Tom Hamburger, and Ellen Nakashima, “Justice Officials Warned FBI that Comey’s Decision to Update Congress was not Consistent with Department Policy,” The Washington Post, October 29, 2016, accessed November 21, 2016, https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/national-security/justice-officials-warned-fbi-that-comeys-decision-to-update-congress-was-not-consistent-with-department-policy/2016/10/29/cb179254-9de7-11e6-b3c9-f662adaa0048_story.html.

  53. 53.

    “Donald Trump’s New York Times Interview: Full Transcript,” New York Times, November 23, 2016, accessed November 25, 2016, http://www.nytimes.com/2016/11/23/us/politics/trump-new-york-times-interview-transcript.html.

  54. 54.

    Henry George Liddell and Robert Scott, A Greek-English Lexicon (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1940).

  55. 55.

    Bob Cesca, “Obama’s Epic Debate Performance and Romney’s Implosion,” Huffington Post, October 17, 2012, accessed December 19, 2015, http://www.huffingtonpost.com/bob-cesca/obamas-epic-debateperfor_b_1974555.html.

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Dewberry, D.R. (2017). From Benghazi to E-Mails: Two Sides of the Same Scandal. In: Denton Jr, R. (eds) The 2016 US Presidential Campaign. Political Campaigning and Communication. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-52599-0_9

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