Benghazi Criticism Upsets Gowdy: ‘1,000-Times Worse’ Than Any Physical Attack

Rachel Stoltzfoos

Republican Rep. Trey Gowdy is upset and frustrated with recent allegations the Select Committee on Benghazi he chairs is a thinly-veiled partisan attack on Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton, saying they are worse than any physical attack.

“I would say in some ways these have been among the worst weeks of my life,” Gowdy told Politico in an interview published Sunday. “Attacks on your character, attacks on your motives, are 1,000-times worse than anything you can do to anybody physically — at least it is for me.”

Politico describes Gowdy, who some Republican representatives want to take on the speakership, as “frustrated,” “defeated,” and “weary of the drumbeat of criticism.” He no longer watches or reads the news, and is unusually “solemn” in TV appearances.

He is working hard to keep the committee’s investigation of the deadly attack in Libya out of the spotlight, but Democrats launched an offensive on the committee after House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy recently suggested the committee was put together to hurt Clinton’s presidential campaign.

Republican Rep. Richard Hanna and a former Republican staffer on the committee echoed McCarthy’s comments, prompting Gowdy to publicly tell Republicans off the committee to “shut up.”

The criticism and resulting calls from Democrats to “disband” the committee come as Clinton prepares to testify before the committee Thursday in what could be the highest-profile hearing of the year, and will certainly be a huge moment for Gowdy. (RELATED: Dems New Talking Point: ‘Disband’ Benghazi Committee)