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Mukasey: American people need the truth on Benghazi

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    Former U.S. attorney general weighs in

  • Duration 6:34
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-- -- columnist for the Washington Post has just filed a column echoing questions raised last week.

In the week.

I'll be exclusive reporting by -- Jennifer Griffin.

Washington Post columnist David Ignatius writes that the White House owes the American people some answers about the terror attack that killed four Americans in Ben Ghazi.

And why and and says that POs doesn't bail those answers before.

Tuesday's election.

-- now Michael Mukasey he served as that -- -- attorney general during the George W Bush Administration he's co chair of the Romney campaigns of law enforcement advisory group.

You're on the Casey welcome back to the program which is -- Good to be a million.

So this is this is interesting to see from David Ignatius saying that they need to answer this minivans are now couple of questions including why eight.

Why it.

We have folks who were who were there saying that request for back up.

Were denied.

By the CIA which the CIA denies and saying we also need to ask why the United States didn't send armed drones or other assistance.

To aid those who are under attack and -- Ghazi immediately your thoughts.

Negative we've got election coming up and there are two things the American people are entitled -- One is confidence and the other is honesty and so far we haven't we don't seem to have gotten you the one in connection with this horrible -- in the lead up to it.

They denied requests for protection that was testified to before congress instead of adding protection to our.

To our embassy and and and and to and to Libyan general it was denied notwithstanding that the British had been attacked the Red Cross have been attacked.

And then in the event itself.

They were requests for assistance.

When people were told to stand down.

And the CIA has said specifically that they never told anybody to stand down.

Secretary Panetta has said that he.

-- that he gave an order.

Directing the the armed forces not to not to enter the -- And yet the president has said that source claimed that as soon as the White House found out about it.

They directed that everything that could be done be done we saw.

Copies of messages that went to the White House while this was ongoing.

That made it clear that the the consulate was under attack that was organized attack.

And yet.

All we got.

In the in the in the aftermath.

Was this ridiculous cock and bull story about.

The video having had something to do it.

It was it was cynical to the point of of two.

Of of of insanity that even as that the president and the secretary of state stood there in the presence of the bodies of those four people she was talking about that video.

When everybody knew at the time that had nothing to do what.

Today we've got news some of this.

Tunisian man he he was arrested we knew that in connection with these attacks on our consulate in Libya.

And now we hear that he and another have been detained -- were detained at an airport in Turkey in the days after the attack.

And transferred it to Tunisian custody.

And US interrogators have not been able to interrogate the -- so we've made arrests.

They've been detained.

They haven't been interrogated and it does appear that we are now going to treat this as a law enforcement problem.

And not not necessarily as a terrorist attack -- terrorist problem where we would.

Responded bit differently as the former attorney general your thoughts on that.

Well this is a case of people who warm blinded by ideology.

Looking through an ideological lens and seeing a crime where everybody else sees terrorism a war.

The -- we've been told repeatedly that wars are over and the only people who don't know that other people who are fighting us.

For -- the war still on and so we continue to treat this as a law enforcement issue well when they treated as a war.

How will have a message you think it -- to those -- Who would like to attack us the -- that this -- -- -- from soup to nuts.

I think that.

The message it sends is that -- It is not -- -- dangerous to be an enemy at the United States.

That if you attack the United States United States will turned a blind guy and pretend that it hasn't happened.

And if it has happened we'll pretend that it is simply a crime -- not a war that's.

That's what's being done here.

-- -- The -- the lead up to this move the event itself.

And the stories afterwards.

-- show.

A lack of both competence and honesty.

And he obviously you know as a as a criminal lawyer that and a trial.

A defendant has a right not to testify and the jury can't -- any inference against it.

But we don't have a Fifth Amendment in politics.

And it's shocking to think that the administration.

Is willing to have that the jury which in this case is the American public.

-- all the negative references in the world.

-- and yet and yet not speak the truth.

-- you can only imagine what the truth must be like if they're willing to keep silent.

The fact that -- the facts are known the facts are simple.

They're known they're available the only thing that remains is to disclose them.

Final question they say the fog of war they say conflicting information they say General David Petraeus gave them.

Information and so today DNI the Director of National Intelligence.

That they relied on in speaking out the American people about a video initially why shouldn't we believe that say we've got some Intel problems.

But not an honesty problem from the administration.

That's nonsense on stilts.

There's no evidence whatsoever.

In fact the intelligence community gave that kind of information and it would have been no basis for it.

There -- cameras outside that consulate those cameras showed an attack there was never -- demonstration.

There was never anybody saying anything about a video.

That was a fabrication from the start.

General Casey thank you for being here we appreciate your perspective.