Clinton fainted and suffered a concussion when she fell, a spokesman said. Clinton won't testify after fainting

The State Department said Saturday that Secretary of State Hillary Clinton fainted and suffered a concussion, but did not specify when that happened or the circumstances surrounding the incident.

She will not testify this week before House and Senate committees about the Sept. 11 attacks on Benghazi as scheduled, congressional sources said.


Clinton, 65, cancelled a trip to the Middle East and North Africa earlier this week because she had been suffering from a stomach flu.

Clinton’s fainting episode took place earlier this week, State spokesman Philippe Reines said Saturday, although he did not give additional details. On Thursday, asked by POLITICO during the day if she’d been hospitalized, Reines responded only that evening that she had seen her doctors and was home, without additional details. He said Saturday she was not and never had been hospitalized.

Reines did not respond to questions about why Clinton’s fainting was not disclosed sooner.

According to Reines’s Saturday statement, Clinton fainted while she was dehydrated and suffered a concussion when she fell. She is now recovering at home and is being attended to by doctors, he said.

A spokeswoman for Sen. John Kerry, the Senate Foreign Relations Committee chairman, said Clinton’s office contacted Kerry Saturday about her concussion.

“Secretary Clinton’s team contacted Senator Kerry this morning to inform them of the secretary’s concussion,” Jodi Seth said. “Senator Kerry was relieved to hear that the Secretary is on the mend, but he insisted that given her condition, she could not and should not appear on Thursday as previously planned, and that the nation’s best interests are served by the report and hearings proceeding as scheduled with senior officials appearing in her place.”

Clinton will also be excused from testifying before the House Foreign Affairs Committee, Chairwoman Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (R-Fla.) said.

Ros-Lehtinen said in a statement released by her committee that Clinton eventually must testify about the Benghazi attacks.

“I am sorry to learn of Secretary Clinton’s ill health and I wish her a quick and full recovery,” Ros-Lehtinen said. “It is, however, unfortunate that Secretary Clinton is unable to testify next week before the House Committee on Foreign Affairs on the investigation into the terrorist attack that killed four Americans and left others injured.

She added: “We have been combing through classified and unclassified documents and have tough questions about State Department threat assessments and decision-making on Benghazi. This requires a public appearance by the Secretary of State herself. Other cabinet secretaries involved should also be held publicly accountable.”

Appearing in Clinton’s place will be William Burns, the deputy secretary of state, and Thomas Nides, the deputy secretary of state for management and resources.

The House committee will also host a closed, classified briefing Wednesday with Ambassador Tom Pickering and Admiral Mike Mullen, who led the Accountability Review Board investigation into the Benghazi attack.

Clinton would have appeared at a pair of open congressional hearings on Benghazi, rare at a time when most of the briefings on the Sept. 11 attacks have happened behind closed doors.

Former CIA Director David Petraeus privately briefed members of the House and Senate Intelligence Committees days after an extramarital affairs forced his resignation. Key administration officials have also held briefings for all members of Congress on details relating to the assault that killed Chris Stevens, the U.S. ambassador to Libya, and three other diplomatic officials.

Clinton was slated to tell lawmakers the findings of the investigation led by the State Department’s Accountability Review Board into what happened before and during the attack at the U.S. consulate in Libya.

“While suffering from a stomach virus, Secretary Clinton became dehydrated and fainted, sustaining a concussion,” Reines said. “She has been recovering at home and will continue to be monitored regularly by her doctors. At their recommendation, she will continue to work from home next week, staying in regular contact with department and other officials. She is looking forward to being back in the office soon.”

Tommy Vietor, the White House spokesman for national security issues, on Saturday referred questions about Clinton to the State Department.

- Jonathan Allen, Maggie Haberman and Scott Wong contributed to this report

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