Clinton camp buzzing about Gowdy before Benghazi hearing

Long before Hillary Clinton and U.S. Rep. Trey Gowdy became linked by the tragic events in Benghazi, the Democratic presidential nominee’s inner circle was warning her about Gowdy’s incoming class of congressional Republicans.

A November 2010 email, hacked from longtime Clinton confidante John Podesta and released by WikiLeaks, offers thoughts by a collection of left-leaning folks about 100 incoming Republican members of Congress, including Spartanburg’s Gowdy, described as “a snapshot of the GOP Class of 2010’s extremism.”

The email, sent by Josh Dorner, communications director for Progressive Media, addresses U.S. Reps. Tim Scott, Jeff Duncan and Mick Mulvaney of South Carolina, in addition to Gowdy.

In general, the email report states, “These GOPers ... are united by their adherence to the extreme wing of conservative ideology. ... (T)he incoming GOP freshman class is rife with legislators who not only oppose climate change legislation, but deny that man-made global warming even exists. They are pushing not just to end birthright citizenship, but also demand that the United States reduce the number of legal immigrants.”

The email then goes on to point out where liberals might have problems with the new GOP legislators, using the shorthand of GW to stand for “global warming denier” and CC for “no climate change legislation,” BC for “end birthright citizenship,” RI for “reduce legal immigration,” TP for “no tax increase pledge,” ET for “repeal estate tax” and BB for “balanced budget amendment” supporters.

Gowdy and Mulvaney were listed as GW, CC, TP, ET and BB, ticking five of the nine boxes.

Scott ticked the CC, BB, BC and RI buttons. Duncan worried liberals in only three areas back then: BC, RI and TP.

The email included links to show exactly where the new arrivals had expressed their views.

Gowdy, the chairman of the House Select Committee on Benghazi, was a frequent subject of Podesta emails before and after the 2012 Libya attack, appearing in 222 of them.

Sometimes, there are snarky comments.

An email from Podesta on Oct. 24, 2015, suggested a joke Clinton could use when speaking about Gowdy’s committee. “(W)hat about: I used to be obsessed with Donald Trump’s hair, that was until I got to spend 11 hours staring at the top of Trey Gowdy’s head.”

Sometimes, the emails discussed strategy for dealing with Gowdy.

Philippe Reines – a senior adviser to Clinton when she was secretary of state – sent an email on May 8, 2015, under the subject line of “Tea Leaves.”

“Gowdy doesn’t know what to do, to get out of the jam of his own making: she wants to come, he wants the documents,” Reines wrote, referring to Clinton’s desire to testify before Gowdy’s committee, while Gowdy wanted to wait until the panel had received documents it had requested. ...

“(N)o other Republican (member of Congress), the (Republican National Committee), or commentator ... echoes Gowdy’s demand for two hearings. Everyone but Gowdy knows it’s a loser.”

This story was originally published October 19, 2016 at 4:46 PM with the headline "Clinton camp buzzing about Gowdy before Benghazi hearing."