White House: Benghazi hearing covers old ground

David Jackson, USA TODAY | USATODAY

WASHINGTON -- The White House said the Benghazi hearing on Capitol Hill Wednesday is covering old ground, and is the result of efforts by some Republicans to politicize the Sept. 11 attack on a U.S. diplomatic post in Libya.

"There are attempts to politicize this," said White House spokesman Jay Carney.

Carney spoke as the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform held a hearing on the attack last September that led to the deaths of four Americans, including U.S. Ambassador to Libya Christopher Stevens.

Rep. Jason Chaffetz, R-Utah, a committee member, said witnesses will show how the country was misled by the Obama administration about the events leading up to the attack in Libya and the handling of it afterward.

"Hopefully we'll get closer to the truth," Chaffetz said.

Obama administration officials initially attributed the attack to a demonstration that got out of hand; they later called it a pre-planned terrorist attack.

Carney said officials initially talked about what they knew at the time, and that the evidence changed. The spokesman also said these matters have been covered in the months since the attack.

Administration officials have cooperated with five congressional committees and an Accountability Review Board that investigated the Benghazi incident.

"The fact is this has been looked at exhaustively," Carney said.