Benghazi only the tip of impeachment iceberg
Tom Tancredo predicts House probe will open up other Obama cover-ups


As the Benghazi scandal unfolds through the congressional investigation of White House and State Department lies, we should keep in mind that the Benghazi lies are only one facet of a rogue presidency that has ridden roughshod over the Constitution for over five years.

If the Benghazi scandal can wake people up to the magnitude of Obama’s crimes against the Constitution, well and good. But White House lies about Benghazi are only the tip of what is really a very large impeachment iceberg.

We will hear many pundits say that whatever the truth of what happened in Benghazi, it’s “only politics” to lie about foreign events during an election campaign, and so, it’s not a scandal on the scale of Watergate. That argument misses the point that what Benghazi and Watergate have in common: What brought Nixon down was not the crime but the cover-up. And when it comes to cover-ups, Obama and his team make Nixon look like a rank amateur.

If on the morning of Sept. 12, 2012, Obama had admitted mistakes were made in not protecting the Benghazi compound against the terrorist attack by an affiliate of al-Qaida, he would have taken his lumps, but there would be no scandal. By fabricating a cover story to avoid admitting his policy failures in Libya, Obama not only put politics ahead of national security, he participated in a cover-up that makes Watergate look tame in comparison.

Cover-ups have become a nasty pattern in the Obama administration. The cover-up of the truth about Fast and Furious gun-running involves not only the White House but several officials in the Department of Justice, including Attorney General Holder.

The cover-up of the unconstitutional use of administrative decrees to violate the separation of powers has involved high-level political appointees in the Department of Homeland Security.

The cover-up of the IRS improprieties involves not only high-level IRS officials but Obama’s White House counsel and powerful Democratic members of Congress, including Sen. Carl Levin.

There is a pattern here of abuse of power through the deliberate disregard of constitutional norms and standards. And what makes that pattern so egregious and dangerous is the participation of a partisan media that actively supports and condones the ongoing cover-ups of Obama’s arrogant disregard of the Constitution.

And now, we are on the verge of seeing a third co-conspirator join the fray: a corporate entity called the National Democratic Party. If congressional Democrats refuse to participate in a legitimate Congressional select committee charged with investigating the Benghazi scandal, we face a true constitutional crisis.

A political blockbuster and guide for Congress to draw up articles of impeachment – Aaron Klein’s “Impeachable Offenses: The Case for Removing Barack Obama from Office”

If Democrats in Congress declare they will not play by the rules, they will be following Obama’s example in disregarding constitutional safeguards against tyranny. Maybe that should have been expected, but it is nevertheless alarming for citizens who expect all elected officials to respect the rule of law.

What we see developing is this. Democrats fear that the Benghazi investigation by the House Select Committee might be a forerunner to an impeachment effort. Consequently, they want to set the precedent that they can veto such investigations by not participating. By obstructing the Select Committee investigation, they are effectively joining in the Benghazi cover-up.

What all this means is that the Benghazi investigation likely will be the closest thing we ever see to a true impeachment inquiry. That is probably not shocking to Washington pundits, but those pundits may be surprised by the outcome. By exposing and documenting a pattern of lies and arrogance by the Obama White House in the final weeks of the 2012 presidential campaign, Obama’s other lies and cover-ups may become more open to investigation and prosecution.

That’s what congressional Democrats and their allies in the mainstream media fear will happen. We can only pray their worst fears are realized. We can hope that in the end, if Democrats’ constitutional morals fail, their instinct for self-preservation will not. After all, as many have observed, Nixon was never impeached, he was forced to resign by leaders of his own political party.

But if the legitimate congressional Benghazi investigation is stonewalled or sabotaged and ends with the key questions unanswered because of obstructionist tactics, then we will indeed face a very dark and troubling constitutional crisis.