chris stevens was a friend and a colleague. more than that he was among the very best our foreign service has to offer in support of our people and our country. a man destined for even greater challenges and successes. it is a special honor for me to be asked to be here and say a few words in his memory. i must begin by offer approximating my sincere condolences and passion to his family and friends gathered here this afternoon to honor his memory. in truth, what we say here our words, can only be a pale shadow for his service and sacrifice for his nation and people. indeed that of his colleagues, glen dougherty, sean smith, tyrone woods. i know you all join me in honoring and appreciating their service and devotion as well. chris and i worked together for a time almost a dozen years ago. he was even then fully committed to his work. an authority already in the middle east. a fine student of arabic. much more. he gave me careful and cogent advice and council as we wrestled together with the many growing problems that even back

this is chris stevens. i really cry for my family and -- with my family for chris when they hear this news. we lost a friend. we lost a supporter and lost a hero. chris stevens is a hero and part of the libyan history. part of the libyan revolution. his name will never forget. we will never forget him. i'm sure that his name and his achievement will be part of the history. we again are sorry we cannot protect this professional diplomat who came to help us in a very critical time when we looking for friends and for support and for help. now it is time of peace. we need support of friend who support us during the war. libya is still facing a very critical challenge. the same day chris stevens is the day the parliament first time in 42 years that they elect their first prime minister. thank you united states for your support. again, we are sorry on behalf of libyan people for the loss of this great friend. thank you very much. [applause] >>> good afternoon, barbara lee. i represent the 9th district, including

>> steven: thank you. >> chris: whoo-hoo! [continued applause and cheering] >> steven: seriously, thank you. >> chris: thank you so much. >> thank you, everyone. >> chris: thank you, thank you, thank you all. what a great show we have planned for you today. are you ready to have some fun with us? [cheering and applause] very good. we have got an all-star lineup. who do we have, mr. sabados? the one and only sarah richardson is here, guys. [applause and cheering] such a fantastic designer. good friend of ours. she's a really, really busy woman. >> chris: she's a beautiful woman. >> steven: all that. she's going to be sharing her design philosophy and a few fantastic tips. >> chris: that's going to be fun, right? amazing. [applause] we also have two wonderful ladies from the best of british cookbook series. we had them on the show before. i adore them. >> yes, mary and sally. yes, they are here, guys. [applause] >> chris: yes. now these -- seriously. 35 years. there was a whole bunch of them, a grup of them. >> steven: they sta

chris stevens did not ask anyone for permission to go to benghazi. i don't think it would have crossed his mind. robert ford who served as our ambassador to syria went out on numerous occasions before we pulled him out of damascus. ryan crocker one of our very best who would be very difficult to say you can't do this even though you've decide you should do it. but what we're trying to do is to create a more ongoing discussion between our ambassadors who are our regional experts and our security people. so that at the very least, no ambassador is taking an unnecessary risk. however that is defined. >> with regard to ambassador stevens, certainly it was brave of him to go to benghazi on the days he did. i have to ask you honestly, though, was there anything in his itinerary on the 10th or 11th that actually specifically required his personal presence? >> well, he certainly thought so, congressman. and he did of course discuss this with his own security people. remember, we do have regional security officers in these posts. they are the ones that an amb

that's why chris stevens went to benghazi in the first place. i asked him to go. during the beginning of the revolution against gadhafi, we needed somebody in benghazi who could begin to build bridges with the insurgents and to begin to demonstrate that america would stand against gadhafi. nobody knew the dangers or the opportunities better than chris. first during the revolution, then during the transition. a weak libyan government, marauding militias, even terrorist groups, a bomb exploded in the parking lot of his hotel, he never wavered, he never asked to come home, he never said let's shut it down, quit and go somewhere else. because he understood it was critical for america to be represented in that place, at that pivotal time. so, mr. chairman, we do have to work harder and better to balance the risks and the opportunities. our men and women who serve overseas understand that we do accept a level of risk to represent and protect the country we love. they represent the best traditions of a bold and generous nation. they cannot work in bunkers and do their jo

ambassador chris stevens and three other americans. good morning, i'm chris matthews, with you for the hour, as we watch secretary clinton's testimony, in what will likely be her final appearance on capitol hill, as the nation's top diplomat. secretary clinton will face questions that republicans have wanted to ask for months. what exactly did she know about security failures in benghazi? well, nbc's kelly o'donnell is live on capitol hill. kelly, this is going to be one dramatic day up there. >> reporter: there has been so much buildup towards this. and because of not only the scope and the tragedy of what happened in benghazi, but the magnitude of who the prime witness is. hillary clinton, in one of her final acts as secretary of state, one of the things members have told me they really wanted to be certain about, was that she would testify while still secretary of state. as we all know, she suffered an illness, first there was a virus, a fall that led to a concussion, then a blood clot. had a really tough go. so there were questions

>>> my name is chris stevens, i'm the new u.s. ambassador to libya. i had the honor to serve as the envoy to the libyan revolution and i was thrilled to watch the libyan people stand up and demand their rights. now i'm excited to return to libya to continue the great work we've started, building a solid partnership between the united states and libya to help you the libyan people achieve your goals. right now i'm in washington, preparing for my assignment. as i walk around the monuments and memorials commemorating the courageous men and women that made america what it is, i'm reminded we too went through challenging periods, when america was divided by a bitter civil war 150 years ago. president abraham lincoln had the vision to pull us together toward a shared goal of peace and prosperity. growing up in california i didn't know much about the arab world. then after graduating from the university of california at berkeley, i traveled to north africa as peace corps engineer. i worked as an english teacher in morocco two years and quickly grew to love t

chris stevens was one of the very best. he started off in the peace corps in morocco and was a fluent speaker. had served with distinction throughout the arab world and when i asked if he would be interested in going to benghazi where we had nothing and he bunked up in a hotel and didn't have support to speak of, he was thrilled. he understood what it would mean. in the wake of this traj doe, this terrible terrorist attack, i think one of the most poignant events has been overlooked. that is what happened after the libyan people from benghazi to tripoli learned that chris stevens, someone whom they had got tone know and trusted and admired had murdered. they went out into the streets and protested themselves. tens of thousands and far more than the dozens of highly armed invaders of our compound and annex. they made it clear that that was not the kind of country they were trying to build. in some way chris's faith after his death was certainly validated. >> thank you. >> mr. smith of new jersey. >> thank you, mr. chairman.

chris stevens was one of our kerry best. i started off again to the peace corps in morocco with a fluent arabic speaker. served with distinction throughout the arab world. when asked if he would be interested in going to benghazi, we did not initially have any support to speak up. he was thrilled. he understood what it would mean. in the wake of this tragedy, this terrible terrorist attack, i think one of the most poignant of events has been overlooked. that is what happened after the libyan people from benghazi to tripoli learned that chris stevens, someone they got to know and trust said had been murdered. they went into the streets. a protest and themselves. thousands, tens of thousands. they made it clear that was not the kind of country they were trying to build. >> thank you. >> thank you, welcome madam secretary be more the tragic loss of four extraordinarily brave americans, including ambassador chris stevens. one of my concerns is we seem to be re-learning the same lessons again and again. after the august 1988 bomb

chris stevens was there serving the united states. they were in danger and they knew it and unfortunately tragically they gave their lives for our country. >> john: i certainly respect your point on that. i would like to play another sound bite from senator paul where he accuses secretary clinton for failing to fulfill her responsibilities at the highest level. >> i don't think you were willfully. i don't suspect your motives for wanting to serve serve your country. but it was a failure of leadership. >> john: was it a failure of leadership or is this the way that bureaucracy sends to work. >> it's the way the world operates. we've had embassies attacked many times in the past. we've made security improvements in many places around the world. but to emphasize again you can never ever totally eliminate the risk involved. you can do that but that means either we don't have diplomats in critical places where we need them, or they're there but they're staying behind tall walls and glass barriers and unable to function and unable to do wha

. >> were you and the president made aware of the classified cable from chris stevens, that the united states consulate in benghazi could not survive a sustained assault? numerous warnings, including personally to me about the security were unanswered or unaddressed. it took a cnn reporter looking through the consulate to find chris stevens's last warning. >> that reporter, of course, was our own senior international correspondent, arwa damon who found ambassador chris steven's journal in the ruins of the consulate in benghazi. arwa is joining us now from beirut, remind our viewers, what was it like when you got to that benghazi consulate? >> reporter: well, we arrived on scene three days after the attack had taken place to find it even at that point in time, completely unsecured, not being treated like a are crime scene at all. the vast majority of the buildings had been burned. and to access the so-called safe room we had to crawl through a window, which we later found out was the same window that ambassador steven's body had been pulled out by other libyan individuals later on. when

you knew chris stevens very well, i knew him very well. i knew him on july 7th when i went to libya to observe the elections, and at that time on july 7th he expressed to me his deep and grave concerns about security, particularly in benghazi. and he continued to communicate with the state department, and i don't know who else was privy to those cables of his deep concern about the security there and the need for additional assistance. and i will argue with facts, that after that event took place, after the fall of gadhafi the quote soft footprint was partially to some degree responsible for the tragedy that took place. the american people, and the families of these four brave americans still have not go got gotten the answers that they deserve. i hope that they will get them. >> well, senator i understand your very, very strong feelings, you knew chris, you were a friend of chris, you were one ever the staunchest supporters of the efforts to dislodge gadhafi and try to give the libyan people a chance, and we just have a disagreement. we h

ambassador chris stevens. at the top of the next hour, it's the house's turn and we may hear still more fireworks there. like this response from secretary clinton earlier to a suggestion that the administration misrepresented the real cause of this attack. >> we were misled there were supposedlyrotests and something sprang out of that and that was easily ascertained that was not the fact and the american people could have known in days and they didn't know that. >> with all due respect the fact is we had four dead americans, was it because of a protest or guys out for a walk one night and decided they'd go kill some americans. what difference, it at this point, does it make? it is our job to figure out what happened and do everything we can to prevent it from ever happening again. people were trying in real-time to get to the best information. the ic has a process, i understand, going with the other committees to explain how these talking points came out, but you know, to be clear, it is, from my perspective,

chris stevens did not ask anyone for permission to go to benghazi, i don't think it would have crossed his mind. robert ford, who served as our ambassador to syria, when out on numerous ocases -- occasions to talk to the opposition before we pulled him out of damascus. we had, you know, very brave ambassadors like ryan crocker, one of our very best, who it would be difficult to say, ryan, you can't go do this even though you decided you should do it. what we're trying to do is create a more ongoing discussion between our ambassadors, our bureaus back in the state department who are regional experts, and our security people so that at the very least no ambassador is taking an unnecessary risk, however that is defined. >> with regard to ambassador stevens, certainly it was brave of him to go to benghazi on the date he did. i have to ask you honestly, though, was there anything in his itinerary on the 10th or 11th that required his personal presence? >> he certainly thought so, congressman he did, of course, discuss this with his own security people. we do have regional security officers

they wanted to know why couldn't ambassador chris stevens and three other americans be rescued. why were repeated security warnings ignored, including a cable from the ambassador on 9/11, the day of the attack, the day he was killed. >> i'm glad you're accepting responsibility. i think that ultimately, with your leaving, you accept the culpability for the worst tragedy since 9/11. and i really mean that. had i been president at the time, and i found that you did not read the cables from benghazi, you did not read the cables from ambassador stevens, i would have relieved you from your post. i think it's inexcusable. >> reporter: pairing hostile questions all day, clinton was also the political pro. massaging big egos, sidestepping attacks when she could. when she couldn't, giving as good as she got. >> we were misled there were supposedly protests and then something sprang out of that, an assault sprang out of that. and that was easily -- ascertained that was not the fact. >> but -- >> the american people could have known that within days and they didn't know that. >> with all du

ambassador chris stevens, one of four americans killed in the attack. ignored stevens concerns about safety at the compound. >> oakland city council will bring in controversial consultant bill bratton in the hopes of decreasing crime in the city. >> trying to figure out what caused a fire in hayes valley. the fire broke out around 2:45 this morning on oak street. both suffered damage on the outside. nobody was injured. >> 6:14. some of san francisco's top tech minds plan to remember that young hacker who took his own life this month. >> we remember that, yes. scott mcgrew said a memorial will attract some of the people who helped create the internet. >> good morning to you. swartz took his life as he faceded prison time for downloading academic papers from m.i.t. some of the people who helped invent the internet will hold the memorial in san francisco thursday night at the internet archive on funston in the city. i will post more information to the facebook page if you would like to attend. meanwhile the controversial site wikileaks today revealed for t

ambassador chris stevens. our state department correspondent, margaret brennan, was in the hearing. >> as i have said many times, i take responsibility. >> reporter: in her opening statement, the usually reserved hillary clinton said that for her the benghazi tragedy is personal. >> i stood next to president obama as the marines carried those flag-draped caskets off the plane at andrews. i put my arms around the mothers and fathers, the sisters and brothers, the sons and daughters and the wives left alone to raise their children. >> reporter: secretary clinton said that while she had a close relationship with ambassador chris stevens, his request for additional security never made it to her desk. >> the specific security requests pertaining to benghazi were handled by the security professionals in the department. i didn't see those requests. they didn't come to me; i didn't approve them, i didn't deny them. >> reporter: still, republican senator rand paul said she should be held accountable. >> had i been pres

you knew chris stevens very well. i knew him very well. i knew him on july 7th when i went to libya to observe the elections and at that time on july 7th he expressed to me his deep and grave concerns about security, particularly in benghazi. and he continued to communicate with the state department and i don't know who else was privy of those cables about the deep concern of security there and the need for additional assistance and i will argue with facts that after that event took place, after the fall of gadhafi, the, quote, soft footprint was partially, to some degree, responsible for the tragedy that took place. the american people and the families of these four brave americans still have not gotten the answers that they deserve. i hope that they will get them. >> well, senator, i understand your very strong feelings. you knew chris, you were a friend of chris. you were one of the staunch reporters in the efforts to dislodge gadhafi and try to give the libyan people a chance and we just have a disagreement. we have a disagreement abou

ambassador, chris stevens. when you heard that, what did you think? >> you know, it was -- look, wolf, she's the secretary of state, she's logged probably more miles than any prior secretary of state. she has a big staff. what i didn't understand, though, was, we didn't hear anything about, where was the intelligence and research bureau of the state department, who looks at these sorts of issues. where was the diplomatic security and where was the undersecretary for management and the deputy secretary. where were all those people, who were in between the secretary of state and the sort of line people, who have now been moved out of their positions, and why haven't they been held accou accountab accountable? did they know about this? we really don't understand where inside the bureaucracy of the state department that the buck stopped. and if secretary clinton rightly says she wants to take responsibility, but with responsibility ought to come accountability. and we didn't see much of that today. >> fran townsend, thanks very much. >> thanks, wolf. >>>

ambassador chris stevens and three others. clinton was scheduled to appear last month but health problems prevented her appearance. >>> supporters of the proposition 8 ban on same-sex marriage in california say it's a state's rights issue. they say voters in our state have already said marriage is only between one man and one woman. their appeal is in a brief they submitted to the united states supreme court yesterday. the court is expected to rule by the end of june on whether a lower court's rejection of prop 8 will stand. >>> singer beyonce is getting all sorts of attention for her performance of the national anthem at the inauguration for the lack of her live performance. ♪ [ music ]♪ s. >> well, it sounds beautiful except a spokeswoman for the marine corps band said yesterday the singer used a prerecorded voice track instead of singing live. no word from camp beyonce just yet. but you can bet all eyes will be on her as she performs at the super bowl. just a couple of questions to her. >> perhaps that week. >>> now bey

that's why chris stevens went to benghazi in the first place. nobody knew the dangers better than chris. a weak libyan government, marauding militias, even terrorist groups; a bomb exploded in the parking lot of his hotel. he never wavered. our men and women who serve overseas understand that we do accept a level of risk to represent and protect the country we love. they represent the best traditions of a bold and generous nation. they cannot work in bunkers and do their jobs. but it is our responsibility to make sure they have the resources they need to do those jobs and to do everything we can to reduce the risks they face. for me, this is not just a matter of policy. it's personal. i put my arms around the mothers and fathers, the sisters and brothers, and the wives left alone to raise their children. it has been a great honor to lead the men and women of the state department and usaid, nearly 70,000 serving here in washington and at more than 275 posts around the world. they get up and go to work every day, often in difficult and dangerous c

and as you know, from the first time chris stevens arrived before the fall of gadhafi, he relied not on any libyan governmental committee but on the february 17th brigade and then we supplemented that after gadhafi's fall with ds agents and private security agents. so there was no effect on anything from the libyan government that was related to that. however, we do think that needs to be looked at going forward. the a.r.b. made a very important point, that the so-called temporary nature of the mission did prove to be confusing to people down the chain responsible for reading those cables. we get about, i don't know, how many millions of cables do we get? and i have to confess i do not read all of the cables that come into the state department. that's why we have huge workforce for people who are given responsibility and look forward to carrying that responsibility and i think designating it as temporary in the a.r.b.'s findings did cause an extra level of uncertainty to some extent. as the chairman said at the beginning, quoting from the a.r.b., there has been a culturation to husba

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so was chris stevens. so is our team in libya. >> but the flag kept coming up and you did not thing that was important enough to increase security when after how many embassies had the flag shown in demonstration. i would think it would demand an increase in security and those below you that might have then this should have brought it to your attention. i come from industry, i come from government and there are victims that have to be cut loose when they are not performing. are the they people on leave, are they still being paid? author on leave and under federal law they are still being paid. >> what is the hold up? >> there are regulations and laws to be followed. >> what is the hold up from management perspective of saying you three let me down, this should have been brought do my attention i for longer need your services. >> congressman i am happy to give you an answer because personnel discussions are not appropriate for public setting but we have taken every step that was available and we will contin

chris stevens understood the situation in benghazi better than anyone else and decided to be there and we should be grateful for his service and his sacrifice. >> the biggest mistake was putting susan rice on that sunday morning on television with what turned out to be wrong intelligence when they didn't need to go that fast. that's probably as much the media's fault for demanding that they do that kind of thing. i think everyone is culpable here. let's take a break and we'll come back and talk about two more hot button topics, guns in america and women on the front line. this is america. we don't let frequent heartburn come between us and what we love. so if you're one of them people who gets heartburn and then treats day after day... block the acid with prilosec otc and don't get heartburn in the first place! [ male announcer ] one pill each morning. 24 hours. zero heartburn. so i think this removes a false barrier and just says that for the modern military whoever can do these kind of jobs and wants to step forward, thank you for your service and go ahead. >> i agree. you've been vo

you knew chris stevens very well. i knew him very well. i knew him on july 7th when i went to libya to observe the elections. and at that time on july 7th, he expressed his deep and grave concerns about security particularly in benghazi. he continued to communicate with the state department and i don't know who emgs about the need for security and need for additional assistance. i will argue with facts that after that event took place, after the fall of gadhafi, the soft footprint was partially to some degree responsible for the tragedy that took place. the american people and families of these four brave americans still have not gotten the answers they deserve. i hope they will get them. >> well, senator, i understand your very strong feelings. you knew chris and friend of chris and you were one of the staunchest supporters of the efforts to dislodge gadhafi and try to give the libyan people a chance. and we just have a disagreement. we have a disagreement about what did happen and when it happened with respect to explaining the sequence

you knew to believe chris stevens whether he asked for help. that's why you sent him there. >> that's why i sent chris stevens to benghazi in the first place. nobody knew the dangers better than chris. first, during the revolution, then during the transition. a weak libyan government, marauding militias, terrorist groups-- >>> he was your friend, working in a place where everybody got danger pay. it was the anniversary of 9/11. and you don't even look at his plea for help. >> i'm not aware of anyone within my office, within the secretary's office -- having seen the cable. >> jeanine: but, of course, you were busy. >> it turned out we had people getting over that wall in cairo, doing damage until we got them out. we had a serious threat against our embass netunis. i had to call the president of tunisia and beg him to send reinforcements, which he did. to findy save our embassy, which could have been a disaster. >> jeanine: what about where it really was a disaster? no one died in tunisia. there was more than a threat against our consulate in ben

clinton will answer questions about the raid that killed u-s ambassador chris stevens and three other american citizens. she was scheduled to testify last month but was hospitalized after doctors discovered a blood clot in her head following a concussion. clinton plans to step down from her post and president barack obama nominated senator john kerry to replace her. gary's has some offseaon a's and giants news straight ahead plus.the 49ers versus the falcons.winner is on to the superbowl. gary has more on the big matchup.next! >> its back to back nfc before igniters want tthe forty- niners want to make an impact --. and take a look. everybody knows the numbers, 181 yards he trhew for 263 . is colin kaepernick. >> i played great today. the running backs played well and that the receivers made place. >> the best the plate, and it is unbelievable. the best that he -- played. >> it is unbelievable. >> he is an amazing player. he runs the ball well, he is a strong throw ou paths and executes well. >> if you have been trying to deal with this heat? >> >> and anyway, it was quite a saturday

stevens was somehow involved in a gun-running scream through syria to turkey. at least that's what has been out there on the blogs. and by the way the inflammatory rhetoric all day long kept coming. here is jeff duncan. >> there was a request made for more security and it was denied on june 7th, and so madam secretary, you let the console at it become a death trap and that is national security malpractice. >> jennifer: accuses the secretary of state of a version of manslaughter. no one ever accused republican congressmen of being subtle of course. jeaning me now is lawrence korb he was the secretary of defense from 1981 to 1985. lawrence welcome back inside "the war room." >> nice to be back. >> jennifer: just to get your take, how do you think secretary clinton handled the questions today? >> i think she did marvellously because when people tried to take cheap shots she wouldn't let them get away with it. and basically i think she was able to point out to the report which she commissioned which was lead by probably the most distinguished foreign service office

ambassador chris stevens from the bay area. we will have more in a live report next half hour. >> secretary of state, hillary clinton has paid east debt finally from the 2008 presidential rain. she made the final payment of $73,000 to a political advisor on december 31, the last of the campaign debt of $12 million. since she faced fundraising restrictions as secretary of state her husband, former president bill clinton, did a lost fundraising for her. >> good news and bad news for football fans who want tickets to see the super bowl in the big easy. the good news? ticket prices are cheaper than a year ago this time. the bad news? you will need a second mortgage to buy them. cornell? >> will. 49er stayed taking shape behind me and some fans, will, they are taking to desperate measures to get their way to the super bowl in new orleans. it is possible that it will cost you big time. this week, 49 season ticket holders find out if they are one of the lucky ones to win the lottery if a chance to buy tickets at face value $950 each.