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White House officials claim State Dept. emails don't tell full story on what they learned about consulate terror attack
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But first from -- at 3 o'clock in New York City there's a new twist in the deadly consulate attack and living.
Libya Fox News has now obtained emails that -- US officials need to do that a terror group linked to al-Qaeda.
Had claimed responsibility for the attacks just hours after the assault.
The messages show as many as 400 security officials at the White House the State Department and the Pentagon.
All had copies of these emails in their possession.
While the consulate was still -- flames.
As you probably know by now militants attacked the US consulate on 9/11 of this year they killed four Americans including the US ambassador to Libya Cris Stevens.
In the first days after that attack the administration suggested it was likely part of a spontaneous protest against Fidel infamous anti Muslim video.
The emails including the one that you see here show that officials learned very quickly that the consulate was being fired upon.
They also show that administration officials knew that a terror group and claimed responsibility on Twitter and on FaceBook.
And that the group was calling for an attack on the embassy in Tripoli.
Secretary of state Hillary Clinton is pushing back on all of this and she says the emails.
Don't tell the whole story.
The independent accountability.
Review board is already hard at work looking at everything not cherry picking -- one story here or one document there but looking at everything which -- Highly recommend as -- appropriate approach.
-- -- -- As that complex as at an attack like this.
Well the white house Press Secretary Jay Carney adds that the same group that claimed responsibility later denied that it launched the attack.
Jay Carney said neither claim should be taken as fact.
Regardless the emails will certainly fuel further criticism of the White House and add to the already politicized nature of this tragedy tragedy.
Catherine -- works intelligence -- is live in the Washington newsroom explain the broader significance if you would of these emails Katherine.
Well shepherd these new documents are significant because he email traffic takes the real time information on the attack.
And those suspected of being responsible inside the White House situation room for the first time.
This brings -- national security advisor Tom -- the Director of National Intelligence the nation's most senior intelligence official James clapper.
And White House counterterrorism advisor John -- directly into the loop as they would have been cleared in on this traffic the fourth key player in this is a CIA director David Petraeus.
Given a new emails -- the senior Republican on the Senate Intelligence Committee cannot understand why the administration had kept blaming this anti Islam video.
What is bothered me I don't know the members of intelligence committee from day one is that we got pushed back both from the White House as well as intelligence community early home.
And we couldn't figure it out I mean it was really strange because they've never -- that.
Our reporting indicates that the attack was a joint venture -- joint operation of -- -- Al Sharia this is a group that wants to establish an Islamic state.
In eastern Libya as well as elements of al-Qaeda in North Africa this notice a Q I -- -- All right Catherine in new the last short period of time we've learned that the White House reprimanded.
The top counterterrorism official after he testified about this attack right.
Well congressional sources tell Fox News at the head of the National Counterterrorism Center Matt Olson was reprimanded by the White House.
After he told the senate homeland security committee on September 19 that the ambassador and three other Americans died during the course of the terrorist attack -- and Ghazi.
Here is that testimony.
Let me begin by asking you whether you would say that investors -- in the three other Americans died as a result of -- terrorist attack.
It's certainly on that particular question I would say yes they were killed in the course of the terrorist attack on our embassy.
A spokesman for the National Security Council disputes are reporting saint of fox in a statement quote this is completely false.
It's -- -- Ghazi was clearly an act of terrorism.
Which is why the president referred to it as such three times before this testimony.
And a spokesman for the NC TC said -- denied he had ever been reprimanded for those statements -- Catherine -- -- live in Washington Kevin thank you.
