It seems that there is a bit of a slapfight erupting in the Benghazi sandbox among the angry children of the House of Representatives. John Kerry, who is not at all as dumb as the people seeking his testimony in relation to the ongoing nothingburger, has decided to middle the whole muddle, which has the children calling, "No fair!" and pounding their fists on the asphalt of the playground.

In a letter to Representative Darrell Issa, Republican of California, the committee's combative chairman, the State Department's assistant secretary for legislative affairs, Julia Frifield, appeared to go out of her way to pit Mr. Issa's investigation into the attacks against a new one being conducted by a select committee appointed by Speaker John A. Boehner. Ms. Frifield said that Mr. Kerry would testify in June, but that in complying with Mr. Issa's demands, "we believe this would remove any need for the secretary to appear before the select committee" on the Benghazi attacks, which killed four Americans, including J. Christopher Stevens, the ambassador to Libya.

And Trey Gowdy will not be sitting with Darrell Issa at recess any time soon.

The whole thing is a farce, albeit a farce disgracefully being flogged for its politics with the bodies of four brave Americans. This is Kerry's very polite way of pointing out what a farce it is. I'll talk to him, the crazy felon guy, but not to him, the Cackalacky rube with the fratboy name and the Conehead haircut.

Tempers flared anew this week when Mr. Issa revealed a classified email that the State Department sent to YouTube during the attacks, warning of the ramifications of an anti-Islamic video it was hosting. To critics, Mr. Issa was refusing to step away from the inquiry and let Mr. Gowdy take over. Worse still, the revelation bolstered the White House's contention that national security officials believed that the attacks were prompted by the video, and that they were not using it as a pretext to play down the assaults' ties to Al Qaeda.

And the Republican caucus suddenly discovers that Darrell Issa is something of a dolt. Next: the many ways in which Louie Gohmert is not Socrates.

Ms. Frifield declined to make Mr. Kerry available next Thursday, the day the chairman had demanded. "He will be fully occupied with critical diplomatic engagements following the May 25 presidential election in Ukraine," she wrote, offering June 12 or June 20. "He will also be engaged in important bilateral and multilateral meetings in preparation for overseas travel." She added that testimony by Mr. Kerry should negate any need to send him before the Gowdy committee.

It's important to remember that Kerry was not Secretary Of State when the attacks on Benghazi occurred and, therefore, what he might have to add to the collective congressional delusion on the topic. But that's the way the summer's going to go, I guess. You can hardly blame Kerry for having a little fun with it. I hope he can steer clear of the shrapnel when the Play-Doh really starts to fly.

Charles P. Pierce Charles P Pierce is the author of four books, most recently Idiot America, and has been a working journalist since 1976.

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