Mother of Benghazi victim lashes out at ousted Ukraine ambassador for her impeachment testimony

Late U.S. foreign service employee Sean Smith

The mother of one of the four Americans killed in the 2012 terror attack in Benghazi, Libya has lashed out at the former U.S. ambassador to Ukraine for invoking her son’s name during her impeachment inquiry testimony.

Patricia Smith, the mother of late U.S. foreign service employee Sean Smith, berated former ambassador to Ukraine Marie Yovanovitch in a Fox News interview on Friday.

In her testimony, Yovanovitch grouped herself with the brave U.S. diplomats who have died in the line of duty over the years.

Patricia Smith took umbrage at the comparison, saying: ‘He’s dead. He’s dead, and they don’t care.’ 

 ‘And now she’s worried — I can’t talk very well right now. I’m quite upset about this. I don’t know why people keep bringing Benghazi into this. She had nothing to do with Benghazi,’ she continued, visibly emotional.  

Patricia Smith (above), the mother of late U.S. foreign service employee Sean Smith, berated former ambassador to Ukraine Marie Yovanovitch for mentioning Benghazi

Patricia Smith (above), the mother of late U.S. foreign service employee Sean Smith, berated former ambassador to Ukraine Marie Yovanovitch for mentioning Benghazi

Former U.S. Ambassador to Ukraine Marie Yovanovitch is sworn in prior to providing testimony before the House Intelligence Committee on Friday

Former U.S. Ambassador to Ukraine Marie Yovanovitch is sworn in prior to providing testimony before the House Intelligence Committee on Friday

Along with Sean Smith, U.S. Ambassador Chris Stevens, and CIA contractors Ty Woods and Glen Doherty were killed in the terrorist attack on a U.S. government facility in Benghazi. 

Fox News host Laura Ingraham also criticized Yovanovitch’s mention of the attack, saying the former U.S. ambassador to Ukraine now works a seemingly low-risk job at Georgetown University.

‘Because you served your country in Ukraine doesn’t mean that you can kind of compare yourself to the heroes at Benghazi,’ Ingraham said.

During her House testimony on Friday, Yovanovitch touted the sacrifices of past State Department employees, apparently grouping her own tribulations in with theirs.

‘We are the 52 Americans who 40 years ago this month began 444 days of deprivation, torture and captivity in Tehran, we are the dozens of Americans stationed at out embassy in Cuba and consulates in China who mysteriously and dangerously … were injured attacked,’ Yovanovitch said.

‘We are Chris Stevens, Sean Patrick Smith, Ty Woods, and Glen Doherty,’ she continued. ‘Who people rightly called heroes for their ultimate sacrifice to this nation’s foreign policy interests in Libya eight years ago. We honor these individuals.’

A burnt car seen at the Benghazi facility one day after the attack in September 2012

A burnt car seen at the Benghazi facility one day after the attack in September 2012

The Benghazi reference was notable because GOP lawmakers, including then-Rep. Mike Pompeo, R-Kan., conducted well-publicized inquiries into the attack, accusing the Obama administration and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton of negligence and attempting to cover up the circumstances around it. 

Clinton initially said the attack was a spontaneous angry mob reacting to a video made in the U.S. that mocked Islam, but it was later determined that Islamic militant group Ansar al-Shari had conducted a coordinated assault.  

Yovanovitch told House investigators that the failure of now-Secretary of State Pompeo and other senior officials to publicly defend her and other career diplomats from political attacks by Trump and his supporters has contributed to severe demoralization in the State Department.

‘I remain disappointed that the department´s leadership and others have declined to acknowledge that the attacks against me and others are dangerously wrong,’ Yovanovitch told Congress. ‘This is about far more than me or a couple of individuals. As Foreign Service professionals are being denigrated and undermined, the institution is also being degraded.’

Former US ambassador to the Ukraine Marie Yovanovitch smiles while being questioned during the second public House Intelligence Committee impeachment hearing

Former US ambassador to the Ukraine Marie Yovanovitch smiles while being questioned during the second public House Intelligence Committee impeachment hearing

Yovanovitch, an immigrant and 33-year veteran of the Foreign Service, testified that she felt intimidated and was stunned when she was abruptly recalled from her post in Kyiv despite being told that she had done nothing wrong and had an exemplary record.

Trump has spoken negatively of Yovanovitch in the past, telling Ukraine´s president in a July 25 phone call that Yovanovitch was ‘bad news.’ Democrats allege her ouster was part of a Trump scheme to open up an alternate diplomatic channel with Ukraine run by his personal lawyer Rudy Giuliani to advance his own personal interests.

As Yovanovitch was testifying Friday, Trump launched a new Twitter attack on her, blaming her for crises in countries where she had previously served. ‘Everywhere Marie Yovanovitch went turned bad,’ Trump said. ‘She started off in Somalia, how did that go? Then fast forward to Ukraine, where the new Ukrainian President spoke unfavorably about her in my second phone call with him.’ 

Read more at DailyMail.co.uk