Hillary Clinton defenders blast Benghazi probe as waste

A day before Hillary Rodham Clinton’s testimony before the House Select Committee on Benghazi, her Democratic allies intensified attacks Wednesday on the Republican-run panel.

Senate Democrats sent a letter to the Republican National Committee demanding reimbursement for the $4.7 million of taxpayer dollars spent on the probe of the 2012 terror attack in Benghazi, Libya.

“House Republicans have used the tragic deaths of four innocent Americans and turned it into an appalling political farce,” said Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid, Nevada Democrat, in a statement announcing the letter. “The very notion that an official House Committee was used as a political tool is inexcusable. It is even more disgraceful that nearly $5 million taxpayer dollars were spent on this political hit job.”

Mrs. Clinton’s appearance before the committee will be a crucial test for her campaign for the Democratic presidential nomination, as she faces potentially damaging questions about her actions before and after the terror attack on a U.S. diplomatic compound that killed Ambassador J. Christopher Stevens and three other Americans.

Earlier in the day, the pro-Clinton super PAC Priorities USA debuted a TV ad that touted Mrs. Clinton’s performance as secretary of state and denounced the Benghazi committee for “playing politics.”

The spot highlights recent remarks by House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy, California Republican, that credited the committee with causing a drop in poll numbers for Mrs. Clinton, who is the front-runner for the Democratic presidential nomination.

The remark bolstered Democrats’ claims that the investigation was a partisan hit job aimed at Mrs. Clinton and helped derail Mr. McCarthy’s bid to be the next speaker of the House.

“As secretary of state, she stood strong for America,” the narrator says in the 30-second spot. “Republicans can play political games. But Hillary Clinton will always stand strong for us.”