Investigation of security at Benghazi consulate

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Welcome back to the Norton center for the arts on the campus of Centre College in tiny Danville Kentucky.

Vice president Joseph Biden and congressman Paul Ryan go at -- at 9 PM eastern our coverage starts at 855.

As we told you earlier part of the debate will be devoted to foreign affairs and you have to expect to -- scandal will come up and will probably come up rural it.

Chief Washington correspondent James Rosen looks at how the Obama administration.

Has been battling itself.

Over that issue.

The question of how high up the chain decisions were being made about pre 9/11 security in Ben Ghazi was answered under -- Wednesday when senior Obama administration officials testified that the buck -- below secretary of state Hillary Clinton.

-- assistant secretary of state Charlene lamb who oversees diplomatic security.

We had the correct number of assets in Ben -- at the time of 9/11.

For what had been agreed upon this kid go to this did reach a level where you need to weigh in or someone -- needed -- way and -- anywhere on national security tells the -- -- and there no -- -- did not.

Questions remain however about public statements like -- so we don't see at this point.

Signs that this was a coordinated planned premeditated attack it based on information that we and our initial information.

And that includes all information.

We saw no evidence.

To back up claims by others that.

This was a pre planned -- premeditated attack.

Yet from the first moments Washington was receiving a steady stream of data suggesting Ben Ghazi was a coordinated attack.

I was in the DS command center on the evening of the event you make this statement.

I could follow what was happening.

Almost in real time that's correct.

And according to the detailed account of the murders provided by State Department officials Tuesday night.

What I was hearing directly from the DS agent to hearing gunfire and explosions started working cameras and phones inside the tactical operations center or TO seat at the consulate.

The agent in the TOC looks at his cameras and the camera on the main gate reveals a large number of people a large number of men armed men flowing into the compound at the very first moment when the agent in the TOC -- the people flowing through the gate he immediately hit some alarm he gets on the public address system as well yelling attack attack.

That agent from the top of this incident has been on the phone.

He had called the quick reaction security team he had called the Libyan authorities he would call the embassy in Tripoli and he had called Washington.

Patricia Smith the mother of slain ninety officer Sean Smith told a TV interviewer yesterday the Obama administration.

Has been feeding her quote outright lies about what happened to her son today a White House spokesman said President Obama remains personally committed.

To getting the Smiths the kind of information they deserve.

James Rosen in Washington --

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Investigation of security at Benghazi consulate

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