Ex-Benghazi panel staffer files new claim against Gowdy

WASHINGTON — A former Republican staffer fired from the House Benghazi committee filed a lawsuit against the panel’s GOP chairman Monday in an escalating dispute over the investigation of the 2012 deadly attacks in Benghazi, Libya.

Air Force Reserve Maj. Bradley Podliska said in a complaint filed in federal court that Rep. Trey Gowdy of South Carolina made false statements about him after Podliska announced last month he was suing the committee for wrongful termination.

Podliska made a draft complaint public at the time. But the lawsuit was not formally filed until Monday, said Peter Romer-Friedman, one of Podliska’s lawyers.

Gowdy said last month that Podliska was fired for mishandling classified information. Podliska denies that, and his suit claims Gowdy defamed him and harmed his career prospects.

Podliska says Gowdy’s committee was engaged in a partisan investigation of the Benghazi attacks, which killed four Americans, including Ambassador Chris Stevens.

Gowdy has disputed that, saying Podliska was overly focused on Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Rodham Clinton. She was secretary of state at the time of the attacks.

Jamal Ware, a spokesman for the Benghazi committee, said the panel disagrees strongly with Podliska’s claims, which he called “meritless” and improper.

“The committee did not and does not discriminate or retaliate based on military service, military status or any other unlawful factor,” Ware said. “We look forward to responding to the allegations in due course and in the appropriate forum. And we are confident that once all the facts are known we will be fully exonerated.”

Podliska’s lawsuit says Gowdy knew his statements about Podliska were false or was “reckless in disregard” to whether the statements were true or false.

Podliska’s initial complaint emerged days before Clinton’s high-profile testimony to the Benghazi panel on Oct. 22 and amid fierce partisan fighting about the true nature of the GOP-led investigation. Clinton and other Democrats call it a partisan political exercise designed to “exploit” the deaths of four Americans and hurt her bid for the White House.

Gowdy and other Republicans say the committee has been and remains focused on those killed in Benghazi and on providing a definitive account of the attacks. There have been at least seven previous investigations.

Gowdy has disputed recent comments by House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy and other Republicans that the Benghazi panel can take credit for driving down Clinton’s poll numbers. McCarthy has since retracted the comment.

Podliska says he was unlawfully fired in part because he sought to conduct a comprehensive probe into the 2012 attacks instead of focusing on Clinton and the State Department. He said the committee turned all of its attention to Clinton and the State Department after it was revealed in March that she used a private email account and server as secretary of state. The move de-emphasized other agencies involved with the attacks and their aftermath, Podliska said.

Podliska also complained about the slow progress made by the GOP-led committee and said staff members have engaged in social activities such as an informal wine club nicknamed “Wine Wednesdays.”

Talk to us

> Give us your news tips.

> Send us a letter to the editor.

> More Herald contact information.

More in Local News

A firefighter stands in silence before a panel bearing the names of L. John Regelbrugge and Kris Regelbrugge during the ten-year remembrance of the Oso landslide on Friday, March 22, 2024, at the Oso Landslide Memorial in Oso, Washington. (Ryan Berry / The Herald)
‘Flood of emotions’ as Oso Landslide Memorial opens on 10th anniversary

Friends, family and first responders held a moment of silence at 10:37 a.m. at the new 2-acre memorial off Highway 530.

Julie Petersen poses for a photo with images of her sister Christina Jefferds and Jefferds’ grand daughter Sanoah Violet Huestis next to a memorial for Sanoah at her home on March 20, 2024 in Arlington, Washington. Peterson wears her sister’s favorite color and one of her bangles. (Annie Barker / The Herald)
‘It just all came down’: An oral history of the Oso mudslide

Ten years later, The Daily Herald spoke with dozens of people — first responders, family, survivors — touched by the deadliest slide in U.S. history.

Victims of the Oso mudslide on March 22, 2014. (Courtesy photos)
Remembering the 43 lives lost in the Oso mudslide

The slide wiped out a neighborhood along Highway 530 in 2014. “Even though you feel like you’re alone in your grief, you’re really not.”

Director Lucia Schmit, right, and Deputy Director Dara Salmon inside the Snohomish County Department of Emergency Management on Friday, March 8, 2024, in Everett, Washington. (Ryan Berry / The Herald)
How Oso slide changed local emergency response ‘on virtually every level’

“In a decade, we have just really, really advanced,” through hard-earned lessons applied to the pandemic, floods and opioids.

Ron and Gail Thompson at their home on Monday, March 4, 2024 in Oso, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
In shadow of scarred Oso hillside, mudslide’s wounds still feel fresh

Locals reflected on living with grief and finding meaning in the wake of a catastrophe “nothing like you can ever imagine” in 2014.

Lynnwood
Crash in Lynnwood blocks Highway 99 south

The crash, on Highway 99 at 176th Street SW, fully blocked southbound lanes. Traffic was diverted to 168th Street SW.

The view of Mountain Loop Mine out the window of a second floor classroom at Fairmount Elementary on Wednesday, Jan. 10, 2024 in Everett, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
County: Everett mining yard violated order to halt work next to school

At least 10 reports accused OMA Construction of violating a stop-work order next to Fairmount Elementary. A judge will hear the case.

Imagine Children's Museum's incoming CEO, Elizabeth "Elee" Wood. (Photo provided by Imagine Children's Museum)
Imagine Children’s Museum in Everett to welcome new CEO

Nancy Johnson, who has led Imagine Children’s Museum in Everett for 25 years, will retire in June.

Kelli Littlejohn, who was 11 when her older sister Melissa Lee was murdered, speaks to a group of investigators and deputies to thank them for bringing closure to her family after over 30 years on Thursday, March 28, 2024, at Snohomish County Superior Court in Everett, Washington. (Ryan Berry / The Herald)
‘She can rest in peace’: Jury convicts Bothell man in 1993 killing

Even after police arrested Alan Dean in 2020, it was unclear if he would stand trial. He was convicted Thursday in the murder of Melissa Lee, 15.

Ariel Garcia, 4, was last seen Wednesday morning in an apartment in the 4800 block of Vesper Dr. (Photo provided by Everett Police)
Search underway to find missing Everett child, 4

Ariel Garcia was last seen Wednesday morning at an apartment in the 4800 block of Vesper Drive.

The rezoned property, seen here from the Hillside Vista luxury development, is surrounded on two sides by modern neighborhoods Monday, March 25, 2024, in Lake Stevens, Washington. (Ryan Berry / The Herald)
Despite petition, Lake Stevens OKs rezone for new 96-home development

The change faced resistance from some residents, who worried about the effects of more density in the neighborhood.

Rep. Suzan DelBene, left, introduces Xichitl Torres Small, center, Undersecretary for Rural Development with the U.S. Department of Agriculture during a talk at Thomas Family Farms on Monday, April 3, 2023, in Snohomish, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
Under new federal program, Washingtonians can file taxes for free

At a press conference Wednesday, U.S. Rep. Suzan DelBene called the Direct File program safe, easy and secure.

Support local journalism

If you value local news, make a gift now to support the trusted journalism you get in The Daily Herald. Donations processed in this system are not tax deductible.