WASHINGTON

Benghazi committee chair points partisan finger

The chairman of a special House committee investigating the deadly 2012 attacks in Benghazi, Libya, said Tuesday that the bipartisan inquiry is being hobbled by resistance from the Obama administration.

Rep. Trey Gowdy, R-S.C., said at a hearing that the committee has recently received 15,000 pages of new documents, but needs greater cooperation from the State Department and other agencies to do its job.

“We should be analyzing documents, not waiting for them to appear,” he said.

Rep. Elijah Cummings of Maryland, the panel’s senior Democrat, complained that the committee’s investigation was moving at a “glacial” pace.

Cummings said there were “major problems” with the committee’s work, adding that he and other Democrats “have grave concerns about the partisan path this committee has taken over the past year.”

“Bipartisanship is a two-way street,” Gowdy said in a letter to Cummings. “I have known you to be a fair partner and expect that cooperation to continue.”

RIYADH, SAUDI ARABIA

Obama defends Saudi links despite rights abuses

President Obama defended the U.S. government’s cooperation with Saudi Arabia on national security despite deep concerns over human rights abuses, as he joined American statesmen Tuesday in paying respects following King Abdullah’s death.

Saudi Arabia’s status as one of Washington’s most important Arab allies has at times appeared to trump U.S. concerns about the terrorist funding that flows from the kingdom and about human rights abuses. But in his meeting with Saudi Arabia’s new king, Obama brought up human rights only in broad terms, a senior Obama administration official said.

Obama, in a CNN interview, said he has found it most effective to apply steady pressure over human rights.