Benghazi panel questions Clinton aide amid public spat

Washington • A senior member of Hillary Rodham Clinton's inner circle testified Friday before a House panel investigating the deadly 2012 attacks in Libya as a nasty spat erupted between a Republican staffer and a Democratic lawmaker who insists it's time for the committee to disband.

Jake Sullivan, a former policy director and deputy chief of staff under Clinton at the State Department, was questioned by the panel in a daylong session of testimony behind closed doors.

Rep. Trey Gowdy, R-S.C., the committee's chairman, said Sullivan was in a "unique position" to talk about how U.S. policy in Libya required the State Department to have a physical presence in the country.

Maryland Rep. Elijah Cummings, the senior Democrat on the committee, said at midday that Sullivan had answered every question.

The panel is investigating the Sept. 11, 2012, attacks at the U.S. facilities in Benghazi that killed four Americans, including U.S. Ambassador Chris Stevens.

Separately, Rep. Adam Schiff, D-Calif., a member of the panel, wrote in a New York Times op-ed that the committee had become "little more than a partisan tool to influence the presidential race, a dangerous precedent that will haunt Congress for decades."

He said the panel had let down the families of those killed in the attacks.

That prompted a highly unusual and scathing attack from Jamal Ware, a spokesman for the GOP-led panel. In an email to reporters, Ware blasted Schiff, saying he had not attended enough of the panel's meetings to levy criticism, including Friday's session. Schiff was traveling from California to Washington on Friday.

"You all need to ask Mr. Schiff how it is he has drawn these conclusions since he has only seen fit to attend one hour of one witness interview since the committee was constituted," Ware said.

Cummings called Ware's comments a "bizarre, highly defensive and erratic statement overflowing with false claims."