WASHINGTON, D.C. -- U.S. Senator Susan Collins today issued this statement following reports that four State Department employees, who were placed on administrative after the Benghazi terrorist attack, have been reinstated by Secretary of State John Kerry:
"Last year, as chairman and ranking member of the Senate Homeland Security Committee, former Senator Joe Lieberman and I conducted an investigation into the terrorist attack in Benghazi, Libya that led to the deaths of four Americans, including Ambassador Chris Stevens. In our bipartisan report, we found that the State Department downplayed the terrorist threat in Benghazi despite numerous attacks on Western targets, ignored repeated requests for additional security, and insufficiently fortified a woefully ill-protected American compound which should have been closed until either security was strengthened or the threat abated.
"For Secretary of State John Kerry to reinstate all the employees who were placed on administrative leave without holding anyone else, including higher-level officials like Patrick Kennedy, the Under Secretary of State for Management, accountable for the problems identified in our report and the Accountability Review Board (ARB) is shocking. After the ARB identified systemic failures and leadership deficiencies that contributed to the grossly inadequate security in Benghazi, it is unacceptable for the State Department to hold no one responsible for the broader mismanagement that occurred prior to the attack."