A group of special operations veterans is demanding House Speaker John Boehner (R-OH) form a Select Committee to unearth the truth behind the Benghazi attacks, saying his legacy will be tied to Benghazi and they would continue to seek the signatures of 218 House members to circumvent Boehner if he continues to refuse to form that committee.
Larry Ward, the political director of Special Operations Speaks (SOS), emphasized to Breitbart News that historians would judge Boehner based on how he handles the Benghazi investigation after a report indicated that Boehner may be thinking about retiring after the 2014 midterm elections. The Benghazi massacre resulted in the deaths of four Americans nearly a year ago.
"His legacy will be directly tied to his action or inaction on Benghazi," Ward told Breitbart News. "History will hold him with esteem for taking a principled stand for truth and justice if he forms the Select Committee to investigate Benghazi."
On the other hand, Ward said should Boehner not form the Select Committee, "historians will forever debate whether he was simply the weakest Speaker of the House in history or whether he was complicit in the Benghazi Massacre cover up." The group sent an open letter to Boehner this week saying it was "deeply troubling" that he has refused to create a Select Committee on Benghazi. The group requested he do so or answer lingering questions—like why there was no military response to Benghazi—within a week. They said Boehner should resign his speakership so a successor would seek the truth behind the Benghazi attacks if he has no intention of doing so.
"With the Obama Administration willfully stonewalling requests for the truth, we need a Speaker of the House who will boldly stand for doing right by our military and any who serve America abroad," they wrote in the letter. "Should you choose to do neither of these, it will send a strong indication to the American public that you are complicit in the Obama Administration’s cover-up and are no longer fit to hold your position of trust and power."
Ward said it was Boehner's choice "as to how he would like to be remembered," and, "in the event he ignores his legacy, we plan on going around the Speaker and secure 218 signatures on the Discharge Petition."
He said his group delivered "thousands of calls to Boehner's office over the last 30-60 days without trying" and intends to "wage an all-out campaign to convince" Boehner that forming the Select Committee "is the right thing for the country, his political career, his job status, and his legacy."
"With one bold move, John Boehner can simmer the growing anger and discontent towards his job as Speaker and even earn some grassroots respect by forming a Watergate-style Select Committee with proper subpoena power and clearances," he said.
Ward said he believed that every House member that signed a resolution to form the Select Committee had a "moral obligation" to also sign Rep. Steve Stockman's discharge position. Stockman needs the signatures of 218 House members to force a vote on the formation of the Select Committee the floor.