(CBS News) Until President Obama details his actions on the night of the Sept. 11, 2012, attack on the U.S. Consulate in Benghazi, Libya, Sen. Lindsey Graham will block votes on CIA director nominee John Brennan and defense secretary nominee, former Sen. Chuck Hagel, R-Neb., the South Carolina Republican vowed today on "Face the Nation."
Though he'll heed advice floated by fellow Armed Services Committee member Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., not to filibuster the nominations, Graham said he plans to hold up confirmation votes until the White House releases more information about the garbled talking points that came out of the administration following the Libya attack.
Five days after what would come to be deemed an attack by extremists with "linkages" to al Qaeda, U.S. Ambassador to the U.N. Susan Rice appeared on "Face the Nation" and said the attack on the U.S. Consulate in Benghazi, Libya, was "spontaneous," prompted by an inflammatory anti-Muslim video that had led to protests in Egypt and elsewhere. Graham, who led the protest that resulted in Rice removing her name from the secretary of state shortlist, issued the charge of "stonewalling" by the administration.
"I'm not going to stop until we get to the bottom of it," Graham said. "We know nothing about what the president did on the night of September 11, during a time of national crisis, and the American people need to know what their commander-in-chief did, if anything, during the eight-hour attack.
"...I don't know what the president did that evening," he continued. "I don't know if he ever called anyone. I know he never talked to the secretary of defense. I know that he never talked to the chairman of the Joint Chiefs. And they never talked to anybody at the White House. I know the secretary of state never talked to the secretary of defense. This was incredibly mismanaged. And what we know now, it seems to be a very disengaged president."
Appearing in the same segment, Sen. Jack Reed, D-R.I., called Graham's threat "unprecedented and unwarranted," and said he hopes the Senate gets a chance to vote on Hagel and Brennan.
Though he'll heed advice floated by fellow Armed Services Committee member Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., not to filibuster the nominations, Graham said he plans to hold up confirmation votes until the White House releases more information about the garbled talking points that came out of the administration following the Libya attack.
Five days after what would come to be deemed an attack by extremists with "linkages" to al Qaeda, U.S. Ambassador to the U.N. Susan Rice appeared on "Face the Nation" and said the attack on the U.S. Consulate in Benghazi, Libya, was "spontaneous," prompted by an inflammatory anti-Muslim video that had led to protests in Egypt and elsewhere. Graham, who led the protest that resulted in Rice removing her name from the secretary of state shortlist, issued the charge of "stonewalling" by the administration.
"I'm not going to stop until we get to the bottom of it," Graham said. "We know nothing about what the president did on the night of September 11, during a time of national crisis, and the American people need to know what their commander-in-chief did, if anything, during the eight-hour attack.
"...I don't know what the president did that evening," he continued. "I don't know if he ever called anyone. I know he never talked to the secretary of defense. I know that he never talked to the chairman of the Joint Chiefs. And they never talked to anybody at the White House. I know the secretary of state never talked to the secretary of defense. This was incredibly mismanaged. And what we know now, it seems to be a very disengaged president."
Appearing in the same segment, Sen. Jack Reed, D-R.I., called Graham's threat "unprecedented and unwarranted," and said he hopes the Senate gets a chance to vote on Hagel and Brennan.