US presidential contender, Hillary Clinton, has gone through an 11-hour hearing before a congress committee over the deadly attack on the US consulate in Benghazi, Libya, in 2012.
The former Secretary of State said she took responsibility and introduced reforms after the attack that killed four Americans, including the US envoy.
Despite the day’s intensity, Clinton appeared cool and in command for much of the hearing. But as the day wore on, she seemed to be increasingly impatient with the Republican line of questioning and with the constant interruptions from the GOP members on the panel.
In her most emotive testimony, Clinton sought to render harmless the GOP attacks by arguing that she agonised over the deaths of four Americans in Libya more than anyone else on the panel.
“I would imagine I have thought more about what happened than all of you put together,” she said. “I have lost more sleep than all of you put together. I have been wracking my brain about what more could have been done or should have been done.
“I came here because I said I would. And I’ve done everything I know to do, as I have the people with whom I worked, to try to answer your questions. I cannot do any more than that,” Clinton said towards the end of the grueling day.
While the hearing did not appear to include any major new revelations on what happened In Benghazi or Washington on the night of the attack, it did offer an opportunity for Republicans to probe what they said were still unanswered questions about the tragedy.
She also deflected criticism that she did not do enough to protect the mission.
Her Democrat Party said that the republican-led panel was a witch-hunt trying to harm her presidential bid.
