Mother Of Benghazi Victim: 'I Blame Hillary Clinton Personally For The Death Of My Son'
CLEVELAND (CBSNewYork/AP) -- The mother of one of the four Americans killed in the Sept. 11, 2012 siege on the U.S. outpost in Benghazi, Libya, is blaming Hillary Clinton for the death of her son.
Speaking at the Republican National Convention on Monday night, Pat Smith, the mother of State Department foreign service officer Sean Smith, told Republican delegates: "If Hillary Clinton can't give us the truth, why should we give her the presidency?"
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"To this day, I don't even know why a computer guy like Sean was sent to Benghazi. That night we lost sons, brothers, fathers and husbands. We lost four brave Americans who made the ultimate sacrifice for the country they chose to serve, and the American people lost the truth" Smith said.
She continued, "For all of this loss, for all of this grief, for all of the cynicism the tragedy in Benghazi has brought upon America, I blame Hillary Clinton. I blame Hillary Clinton personally for the death of my son."
Mother of Benghazi victim: "I blame @HillaryClinton personally for the death of my son" https://t.co/miGsRFqHWX https://t.co/nlqoZ4CSI1
— CBS News (@CBSNews) July 19, 2016
Smith said she was never able to get answers from the State Department.
"I have repeatedly asked Hillary Clinton to explain to me the reason why my son is dead. I'm still waiting," Smith told the crowd. "Whenever I call the State Department, no one would speak to me because they say I'm not a member of the immediate family. Sean is my son. Hillary Clinton is a woman, a mother, and a grandmother of two. I am a woman, a mother and a grandmother of two. How could she do this to me?"
Mother of Benghazi victim says she's "still waiting" for answers on son's death https://t.co/miGsRFqHWX https://t.co/9TY0Qd3JJC
— CBS News (@CBSNews) July 19, 2016
Smith added that her son told her that he was going to die in Benghazi the night before the terrorist attack took his life.
Ambassador Christopher Stevens also died in the attack.
The convention's program Monday night had a strong focus on Benghazi -- an issue that Republicans have pressed for years against Clinton, claiming her negligence contributed to the Americans' death.
Delegates also saw a video and presentation about Benghazi.
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