House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy said the House Benghazi Committee’s work has politically wounded Hillary Clinton in the 2016 presidential campaign.
The comment by McCarthy, who is running for House speaker, is certain to fuel Democratic allegations that the GOP-led panel is a political weapon that Republicans are using to harm Clinton’s White House prospects.
"Everybody thought Hillary Clinton was unbeatable right? But we put together a Benghazi special committee. A select committee. What are her numbers today?" McCarthy said on Fox News late Tuesday night.
"Her numbers are dropping. Why? Because she is untrustable. But no one would have known any of that had happened had we not fought and made that happen," added McCarthy in an interview with Fox host Sean Hannity.
The comments appear to be a reference to the Benghazi Committee’s role in the revelation of Clinton’s private email setup, which was discovered as a result of the panel’s requests to the State Department for Clinton’s correspondence.
The Clinton campaign on Wednesday attacked McCarthy for his comment.
"This is a damning display of honesty by the possible next Speaker of the House," said Clinton spokesman Brian Fallon. "Kevin McCarthy just confessed that the committee set up to look into the deaths of four brave Americans at Benghazi is a taxpayer-funded sham. This confirms Americans' worst suspicions about what goes on in Washington."