When Susan Rice gave reporters an inaccurate account of the Benghazi attack five days after it occurred, she was simply repeating the assessment she had been given at the time, according to the CIA's deputy head. The UN ambassador had been briefed on the attack, and the intelligence she was given—that it was a protest gone wrong, rather than a terrorist attack—was faulty, Mike Morell told Congress in closed-door hearings yesterday. Political motivations didn't come into play, said Democratic Rep. Adam Schiff, who told reporters about the hearings, the AP reports. Republicans have frequently attacked Rice for her account following the attacks.
Yesterday saw two in a series of Congressional committee hearings on Benghazi this week. The hearings featured a National Counter Terrorism Center presentation that contained footage from drones and cameras on the scene—and was reportedly hard to decipher. The attacks "involved many, many people, and it’s a mix of intent, motivation, a mix of skill, armament," an official tells the Daily Beast. David Petraeus is scheduled to testify today; after an independent review, Hillary Clinton will testify in December. (More Susan Rice stories.)