October 24, 2012

Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton says that State Department emails that a group with al-Qaida links claimed responsibility for the deadly September 11 attack on the U.S. consulate in Libya do not tell the whole story.

Clinton told reporters on Wednesday that the claim of responsibility noted by department officials was posted on Facebook and "is not in and of itself evidence." She cautioned against "cherry picking one story here or one document there" and said it is critical to look at the totality of information before coming to any conclusions.

Republicans have seized on the emails, made available late Tuesday, to boost allegations that the Benghazi attack was a planned terrorist attack and not the result of a spontaneous demonstration as Obama administration officials suggested initially.