Clinton meets face-to-face with Benghazi committee

Hillary Rodham Clinton firmly defended her actions on Benghazi as she came face-to-face on Thursday with the Republican-led special investigation of the 2012 attacks on a US diplomatic mission in the Libyan city, hoping to put to rest the worst episode of her tenure as secretary of state and clear an obstacle to her presidential campaign.

Democrats have assailed the investigation as a ploy to derail Clinton’s White House bid.

The hearing comes at a moment of political strength for Clinton, the front-runner for the Democratic nomination.

Today, a potential rival for the nomination, Vice President Joe Biden, announced he would not join the race. Clinton also is riding the momentum of a solid debate performance last week.

Clinton kicked off a long day of questioning with a plea that the United States maintain its global leadership role despite the threat posed to US diplomats. She hailed the efforts of the four Americans who died in the September 11, 2012, attacks, including the first ambassador in more than three decades, but told the House Benghazi Committee that the deadly events have already been exhaustively scrutinised.

“We need leadership at home to match our leadership abroad, leadership that puts national security ahead of politics and ideology” Clinton said in her opening remarks, the closest she came to directly rebuking her Republican investigators.