Benghazi Key Witness Made Available To Congress After “Administrative Error” Kept Him Hidden For Months

Freedom Outpost

Marine Col. George Bristol is a key witness in the Benghazi attack  investigation by Congress. On Friday, the Defense Department has now stated they  will allow members of Congress to speak with Col Bristol, who was in command of  the U.S. Special Forces in Northern Africa (AFRICOMM) on September 11, 2012.   Officials had previously told Congress that he was retired and couldn’t be found  and so could not be made available.  Now they are claiming that was an “administrative  error.”  U.S. Rep. Jason Chaffetz (R-UT) and Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) were  among those who have never accepted that excuse.

Rep. Chaffetz said that the DoD had been unwilling to “pass along any sort of  information about Col Bristol’s location.

Air Force Maj. Robert Firman confirmed to the Daily Mail, “The Department of Defense has fully cooperated with  congressional requests to understand the attacks on the Benghazi compound,’  Firman said. ‘Col. George Bristol, USMC, will be available to meet with House  and Senate members and their staffs.”

Senator Graham sent  a letter to Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel on Thursday citing Bristol’s  “in-depth knowledge of the region, coupled with his close interaction with U.S.  Special Operations Forces operating on the African continent.”

Graham wrote that Bristol “would be the ideal person to speak with about what  happened on the ground in Benghazi.”

The Daily Mail reports on its on search of Col. Bristol:

MailOnline has located Bristol’s home in Northern Virginia in recent weeks.  On Thursday evening a woman answered the door and confirmed that he lived there,  but the colonel himself has not responded to four separate requests for an  interview.

Sources have said Bristol was out of the country on non-military business  until July 14.

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Firman told MailOnline that the about-face  came after Sen. Graham sent a letter to Defense Secretary Chuck  Hagel on Thursday, asking for reconsideration.

That move followed a report in the Marine Corps Times, which cited a Marine Corps  source in concluding that Bristol’s retirement would not become final until  August 1.

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