"Morning Joe" host Joe Scarborough blasted Republicans for promoting what he called a "conspiracy theory" ahead of Wednesday morning's hearings on last fall's terrorist attacks on the U.S. diplomatic mission in Benghazi, Libya.

Scarborough said that he wanted the investigation to be "sniffed out," as three so-called "whistleblowers" are set to give testimony that contradicts some of the Obama administration's account of the prelude and aftermath of the attack.

But recalling a conversation he had with a Republican congressman, Scarborough lamented that the GOP would try to use the issue to "turn Americans against President Obama."

"Are you kidding me?" Scarborough said. "I want the investigation, but I don't understand why conservatives believe that this is somehow the Holy Grail politically."

Scarborough continued, saying that the party should focus on other issues, because the focus on Benghazi was not a path to success in the 2014 elections. He especially chided members of the party who have often compared the incident to Watergate.

NBC reporter Chuck Todd agreed, before noting that he and Scarborough were sure to get plenty of "Twitter hate" for saying so. Todd said that Republicans believe they have to win next year's elections on "scandal" — not like 2010, when they won on the issue of health care.

He called Republican theories of a cover-up a "conspiracy theory."

"For this conspiracy theory that some people believe is out there — that the White House was trying to downplay a terrorist attack because of the election — they did a really poor job of it," Todd said. "Because within three or four days, it was pretty clear to the entire world this was a terrorist attack from a group that had some sort of extremist al-Qaeda ties."

Watch the video below, via Mediaite: