It may be the Obama administration’s version of “off with her head” for White House Counsel chief Kathryn Ruemmler who is being properly set-up to take the fall for the White House’s disastrous handling of Benghazi and the IRS scandal.

BuzzFeed reported that “two administration sources” said it was the office of the White House Counsel who advised top Obama officials to keep quiet about Benghazi in the days after the attack and the weeks leading up to the 2012 election.

According to the article:

BuzzFeed has learned that key members of President Obama’s national security team, including deputy national security advisor Ben Rhodes, pushed to release a comprehensive timeline of events documenting the attack that would also synthesize the views of the various government agencies into one report. The CIA also wanted the White House to put out such a timeline, according to sources with knowledge of the situation.

Those plans were quashed, however, when the White House Counsel’s office, which is led by Kathryn Ruemmler, advised the officials to not release any information to the public out of fear it could be used against them in any subsequent investigations and other legal complications.

The sources told BuzzFeed that the administration really, really wanted to put a timeline of events out to the public, and were frustrated by Ruemmler’s legal advice not to do so.

“It was aggravating,” one administration official said. “It comes back to Kathryn Ruemmler, Kathyrn Ruemmler, Kathryn Ruemmler. I hate to say it, as it sounds like piling on, but it’s on her doorstep too.”

You may recognize Ruemmler’s name from the news this week that she knew about the inspector general report coming out reporting the IRS targeting of conservative groups, but she, along with other top officials, never told the president.

The Washington Post reported Monday:

Previously, the White House said counsel Kathryn Ruemmler did not learn about the final results of the investigation until the week of April 22nd, and had not disclosed that [Chief of Staff Denis] McDonough and other aides had also been told about the investigation. On Monday, White House Spokesman Jay Carney said a member of Ruemmler’s staff learned of the probe the week of April 16; Ruemmler learned of the investigation on April 24th; and after that point she informed the chief of staff and other aides about the probe’s findings.

But, as you have probably heard, Obama didn’t learn about the IRS’s misconduct until he saw media reports like the rest of us

Some of Twitchy’s favorite tweeters have already weighed in with their thoughts on the likelihood of Ruemmler keeping her job much longer:

More from BuzzFeed.

• Author
• Recent Posts

Janeen Capizola

"And though she be but little, she is fierce." And fun! This conservative-minded political junkie, mom of three, dancer and one-time NFL cheerleader holds a bachelor of arts degree in political science. [email protected]. Twitter: @JaneenBPR

Latest posts by Janeen Capizola (see all)

• The joke that may have lost John Kerry all his friends at CNN - March 10, 2014
• ‘What could have been’ reunion pic: Romney, Ryan family bump into each other in airport - March 10, 2014
• GOP battle begins; lawmakers jockey to replace Issa as House Oversight chair - March 10, 2014

Comment

We have no tolerance for comments containing violence, racism, profanity, vulgarity, doxing, or discourteous behavior. If a comment is spam, instead of replying to it please click the ∨ icon below and to the right of that comment. Thank you for partnering with us to maintain fruitful conversation.