Fox News reporter James Rosen pressed State Department spokeswoman Jen Psaki on Tuesday over why it took such a long time to apprehend Benghazi suspect Ahmed Abu Khattala when he wasn’t even in hiding. In fact, the suspect has conducted several press interviews since the deadly Benghazi terror attacks.
Psaki pushed back at Rosen’s assertion that there was an “egregious delay” in the capture of the suspected Benghazi ringleader, saying “there is no one more committed than the leaders in the United States government… in apprehending those responsible for the horrific acts that occurred just as few years ago.”
The spokeswoman also argued there are a “range of factors” that prevented the Obama administration from capturing Abu Khattala faster.
“From your point of view, a delay of what you just identified as ‘just a few years’ between the commission of a given offense and the apprehension of one of the suspected individuals, that’s not egregious as a delay, just a few years?” Rosen pressed.
But Psaki didn’t budge, again citing a “range of factors” that delayed the process of capturing the suspect. She repeated her claim that the U.S. acted as fast as possible.
That led Rosen to grill Psaki on why reporters were able to schedule meetings with the suspect, who didn’t even go into hiding. He asked why U.S. Special Forces couldn’t have held an “unscheduled meeting” with the suspect sooner than two years after the attacks.
“With all due respect, I would say there are reasons why individuals, including terrorists, meet with reporters to gain more attention for their issues or their agenda. That is entirely different from any operation to take these individuals into custody and there are a range of factors taken into account,” she said.
“Why didn’t we pose as a reporter to capture him then?” Rosen asked.
“Well, we appreciate you, if you are volunteering yourself for future endeavors,” the spokeswoman joked, skirting the question.
“You’re still not answering the central question, Jen. You’re not answering the question of why a reporter was able to get within six inches of this guy, and U.S. Special Forces weren’t for more than two years,” a growingly frustrated Rosen shot back.
Once again, Psaki danced around the question and repeated her earlier statement that terrorists have their own agendas when they decide to talk to reporters. She also repeated that the Obama administration carried out the operation as “expeditiously as possible” and took into account a “range of factors.”
The Washington Free Beacon has the video: