Benghazi review leader OKs meeting with committee
By MATTHEW LEE, Associated Press
May 22, 2013 2:24 PM CDT
FILE - In this May 15, 2013 file photo, House Oversight Committee Chairman Rep. Darrell Issa, R-Calif. speaks on Capitol Hill in Washington. Issa has issued a subpoena to compel the co-chairman of the independent review board that investigated last year’s attack on the U.S. diplomatic mission in Benghazi,...   (Associated Press)

A House committee chairman has withdrawn a subpoena to compel a retired diplomat to answer questions in private about an independent investigation of last year's attack in Benghazi, Libya.

Rep. Darrell Issa (EYE'-suh) says he acted after Thomas Pickering agreed to meet with the House Oversight and Committee Reform Committee behind closed doors.

Pickering and former Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Mike Mullen led the investigation into the Sept. 11 attack on the U.S. diplomat mission. Four Americans, including the U.S. ambassador, were killed.

Pickering had offered to testify before Issa's committee in public. But Issa said a private meeting was needed first so the committee could understand how the investigation was conducted.

Issa had summoned Pickering to appear Thursday, but his appearance is now being rescheduled.

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