CBS News' Sharyl Attkisson Speaks To Chris Stigall About Public Reaction To Benghazi
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) -- Chris Stigall spoke with CBS News Reporter Sharyl Attkisson on Talk Radio 1210 WPHT to ask her why other political scandals, like the story involving members of Chris Christie's staff causing traffic delays on the George Washington Bridge, garner more media attention than others, such as the attacks on the U.S. consulate in Benghazi, Libya on September 11, 2012.
Click below to listen to the full interview...
Sharyl Attkisson
While the Benghazi incident is more intricate than typical political dramas, Attkisson said, "That's my job -- to try to make a complicated story digestible, so that people that don't know everything about it or maybe haven't done as much research can understand why it's important."
Stigall followed up by asking whether or not she felt Benghazi was too complicated.
"There are a lot of complicated things about it, but I do think it can be boiled down -- as we tried to do in the last year and a half -- into some clear, accurate and easy to understand themes," Attkisson responded.
Attkisson also said she believes the three key aspects of the story are the state of the consulate's security prior to the attacks, the lack of an effort to send help or reinforcements during the attack and the evolution of the administration's talking points after the incident.
Stigall asked who she would most like to question about the events of that night. Attkisson said she'd like to ask Secretary of State Hillary Clinton about her actions because, "She, by her own account, was involved moment by moment the night of the attack, and her agency was involved enforcing the security decisions leading up to it, as well as the fallout afterwards."
Attkisson told Stigall that one of the reasons investigating this story continues to be so difficult is its proximity to the 2012 Presidential Election.
"I don't think we know all the answers," she said. "We don't know why things unfolded as they did, but remember this is happening in the environment of a Presidential re-election, so one of the questions is, how much did that timing play into the story that they perpetuated for the American public, and were there other things that need to be explored?"
