Rogers: No link between Benghazi attack, Prophet film
Chairman of House Intelligence Committee Mike Rogers tells CNN US has no clear indication that Benghazi attack was related to Prophet film protest
WASHINGTON – Chairman of the House Intelligence Committee Mike Rogers (R-Mich) said Sunday that the United States has "seen no information" suggesting that the attack outside the American consulate in Benghazi was somehow related to the film mocking the Prophet Mohammed.
The attack left US Ambassador Christopher Stevens and three other staffers dead.
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"I have seen no information that shows that there was a protest going on, as you have seen around any other embassy at the time," Rogers said on CNN's "State of the Union," Sunday. "It was clearly designed to be an attack."
Rogers effectively challenged the White House’s first account of the attack, further saying that "blaming the attack on the video is ill advised."
The US consulate in Benghazi after the attack (Photo: AFP)
"There's still a little bit of confusion, but it's very clear as even I said last week this had to be a pre-planned event. We know it was an act of terrorism.
"I think the administration has come to the conclusion it's an act of terrorism now," Rogers said.
Asked whether it was possible that Stevens was targeted, Rogers said: "Well, that's still unclear. There still is some indication that they may have, in fact, known the ambassador was either there or in the area at the time of the attack, but 9/11 is probably more important to that equation than even the ambassador."
Robert Gibbs, a senior adviser to the Obama campaign, said Sunday that the investigation continues and "no one wants to get to the bottom of this more than the president."
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