National security journalist Tom Ricks appeared on Fox News to blast the network's incessant coverage of the attack on the U.S. diplomatic compound in Benghazi, Libya. After saying that “Benghazi was hyped, by this network especially,” Ricks went on to say that “the emphasis on Benghazi has been extremely political, partly because Fox was operating as a wing of the Republican Party.”

Indeed, Fox has relentlessly hyped the Benghazi attack -- and repeatedly pushed distortions of the events that happened before, during, and after the attack.

For example, Fox claimed that the Obama administration's statements that an anti-Islam video played a role in the attack were indicative of an administration “cover-up” ; in fact, reports confirm that some of the attackers say they were motivated by the video. Fox has also attacked Susan Rice, U.S. ambassador to the U.N., for linking the video to the attacks in a series of Sunday show appearances, even though Rice was accurately conveying the consensus of the intelligence community at the time. Fox even suggested that the Obama administration abandoned Americans to die in Benghazi, despite the fact that reinforcements were sent to Benghazi from Tripoli on the night of the attack.

Others have criticized overblown reactions to the Benghazi attack: Time's Joe Klein called efforts to “create a scandal” out of Benghazi “tawdry,” while the Washington Post editorial board said the conservative response to Benghazi has been focused on “half-baked conspiracy theories.”

From the November 26 edition of Fox News' Happening Now: