Grassley calls Clinton queries a ‘national security issue’

CEDAR RAPIDS - On the eve of Hillary Clinton's appearance before a House oversight committee that she called a 'partisan arm” of the Republican Party, Sen. Chuck Grassley said the investigation based on an attack on a U.S. diplomatic post that resulted in four deaths is not about her.

The Iowa Republican also discounted claims by Clinton and her supporters that the House Select Committee on Benghazi was created to detract from the Democratic front-runner's presidential campaign.

'It's not about Hillary Clinton,” Grassley said on a conference call with Iowa reporters Wednesday. 'It's about how well our government is carrying out its responsibilities for Foreign Service officers. You want to protect people in the future, so you got to get to the bottom of this.”

In addition, he said, is Clinton's 'What difference - at this point, what difference does it make?” comment when questioned about the Benghazi deaths.

'It makes a difference because four people died because the federal government wasn't protecting its personnel adequately,” he said.

Besides, he said, the panel was set up 'before there was any clue that Clinton was going to run for president.”

'Go way back to September 2012, ever since we've been trying to get answers from this administration and you don't get them,” Grassley said.

In addition to Democratic criticism of the House committee's intent, a Republican who was an aide on the panel said recently he was fired because he resisted instructions to focus on Clinton rather than on the Benghazi attack itself. Republican House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy told Fox News the committee succeeded in hurting Clinton's poll numbers. Additionally, Rep. Richard Hanna, R-N.Y., asserted last week there's 'a big part of this investigation that was designed to go after people - an individual: Hillary Clinton.” Committee chairman Trey Gowdy, R-S.C., said those who aren't on the committee should shut up.

Grassley said his interest in the committee's investigation goes deeper. He had his own line of questions about Clinton's handling of national security information when she testified before Congress in 2013. Grassley wanted to know whether national security information was being adequately protected and whether only people with proper national security clearances were allowed to read those documents.

'There is some evidence that has been badly abused by Secretary Clinton, he said. 'It's a national security issue.”