To former Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld, the question isn’t even close:

Hillary Clinton was the person responsible for the safety of the American ambassador to Libya and the three other Americans who died during a terrorist attack in Benghazi in 2012.

Interviewed Wednesday by Newsmax TV’s Steve Malzberg, Rumsfeld was responding to a comment by U.S. Rep. Darrell Issa, R-Calif., who said an investigation by the U.S. House Oversight and Government Reform Committee had found that diplomatic security was the responsibility of a State Department undersecretary.

But Rumsfeld, who held the Defense secretary job under two administrations, said the final call – and the final blame – belongs to the person in charge. And the person in charge of the U.S. State Department in September 2012 was Hillary Clinton.

Rumsfeld noted that Benghazi was a known security risk at the time for western government personnel.

“In this instance, there was widespread knowledge, as was pointed out by Congressman Issa. The British knew that there were al-Qaeda threats, and they pulled their people out because they knew they couldn’t protect them,” Rumsfeld said.

“Our people knew there were al-Qaeda threats, and they not only did not protect them, but they didn’t pull them out. That, in my view, is a neglect of important responsibilities. The idea that it falls to someone down the line, I think, is a misunderstanding.

“Clearly, the secretary of state, Hillary Clinton, is the person responsible.”

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Joe Saunders

Joe Saunders, a 25-year newspaper veteran, is a staff writer and editor for BizPac Review who lives in Tallahassee and covers capital and Florida politics. Email Joe at [email protected].

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