Under-fire White House releases Benghazi ‘talking points’ emails

President Barack Obama speaks at a Democratic Party fundraiser at the Waldorf Astoria hotel in New York, May 13, …Under heavy political pressure, the White House on Wednesday released 100 pages of internal Obama Administration emails in which senior officials debated what to tell Americans about the Sept. 11, 2012 terrorist attack in Benghazi, Libya.

Republicans have charged that the White House played down the role of suspected terrorists in the attack, which left four Americans dead including U.S. Ambassador Chris Stevens. GOP lawmakers have said that President Barack Obama's reelection campaign did not want to undermine its message that al-Qaida was on the run. Obama has flatly denied any attempt to deceive the public, and on Monday he called the allegations a "sideshow" that dishonors the memories of those killed.

Some of the back-and-forth has centered on the email messages among top officials looking to craft "talking points" for members of Congress just a few days after the attack. The White House has accused Republicans of pushing "fabricated" messages to damage the administration.

On Wednesday, senior administration officials briefed reporters on the messages and provided binders of 100 pages of emails. The officials said the communications would show that the CIA led the changes to the talking points, including alterations that Republicans claim show a political motive. The officials went through the emails page by page.

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White House rebuffs Boehner on Benghazi-related emails

White House Press Secretary Jay Carney during his daily news briefing at the White House on Friday, May, 10, 2013. …President Barack Obama's standoff with congressional Republicans over Benghazi escalated Friday as the White House rebuffed House Speaker John Boehner's demand that it turn over unclassified internal emails linked to the deadly Sept. 11, 2012 attack.

Press secretary Jay Carney rejected the request and again accused Republicans of trying to milk the tragedy for political gain.

“They’re asking for emails that they’ve already seen, that they were able to review and take extensive notes on, apparently provide verbatim information to folks,” Carney told reporters.

His comments came hours after ABC News reported that talking points crafted by the Administration to explain the attack to the public underwent extensive revisions at the State Department's request and with copious White House oversight.

"The fact that the very people who’ve reviewed this and probably leaked it – generally speaking, not specifically -- are asking for something they’ve already had access to I think demonstrates that this is what it was from the beginning in terms of Republican handling of it which is a highly political matter," the spokesman said.

Carney noted that key Republicans had been given access to internal emails in which officials discussed the drafting of the talking points. Lawmakers were able "to review them, take notes, spend as much with with them as they liked," Carney said.(But lawmakers were were not allowed to make copies or take the documents out, which is known as an "in camera" review. )

"There is a long precedent here for protecting internal deliberations. This is across administrations of both parties," he said. House Republicans have hinted they may try to subpoena the emails if the Administration does not cooperate.

"From the hours after the attack, beginning with the Republican nominee’s unfortunate press release, and then his statements the day after, there has been an effort to politicize a tragedy here, the deaths of four Americans," Carney said, referring to Mitt Romney's poorly received response to the attack.

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Israel: OK to check emails of foreigners at border

JERUSALEM (AP) — Israel's attorney general says security officials may continue the practice of searching emails of some foreigners who want to enter Israel.

Nadim Aboud of the attorney general's office wrote to the Association for Civil Rights in Israel Wednesday, saying officials may ask a person to open an email account for checks if they believe the person is suspect.

Abboud wrote potential entrants may refuse, but that would be a factor in deciding whether a person would be allowed entry.

The ruling follows an uproar last year when some visitors trying to enter Israel were ordered to open their emails after hours of interrogation at Israel's Ben-Gurion airport. Two Palestinian-American women were forbidden from entering after email checks were conducted.

ACRI says the attorney general's letter effectively legalizes the email checks.

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