The long awaited testimony from Secretary of State Hillary Clinton's regarding the administration's handling of the Benghazi terrorist attack began with her taking responsibility for the lives lost.
For much of the hearing, Clinton accepted criticism from Republicans and praise from Democrats.
But when pressed by Republican Wisconsin Sen. Ron Johnson about why the State Department and the Obama administration misled the American people regarding the nature of the attack, Clinton lost her cool.
Watched the exchange between Sec. of State Clinton and Sen. Johnson.
"We were misled that there were supposedly protests and something sprang out of that," Johnson said. "The American people could have known that (there was no protest) within days, and they didn't know that."
On the defensive, Clinton's tone turned confrontational.
"With all due respect, the fact is we had four dead Americans," she said.
"I understand," Johnson said.
Clinton continued with her arms raised in frustration: "Was it because of a protest or is it because of guys out for a walk one night and they decide they go kill some Americans? "What difference, at this point, does it make?"
Clinton, lowering her voice, but pounding the table in front of her, said it is the administration's job to "figure out what happened" and prevent it from happening again.
In a later exchange, with tempers far better controlled Clinton acknowledged that the State Department did not have a "clear picture" of what was happening in Benghazi.
Clinton, throughout the hearing, walked a fine line between taking responsibility generally for what went wrong and challenging specific allegations against her department and the administration.
The long awaited testimony from Secretary of State Hillary Clinton's regarding the administration's handling of the Benghazi terrorist attack began with her taking responsibility for the lives lost.
