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Caught Our Eye

Ben Carson recruits former Benghazi investigator to foreign policy team

Posted by Christie Boyden on Jan. 12, 2016

As questions arose in December about whether Dr. Ben Carson could grasp international issues, the Republican presidential candidate quietly hired a Capitol Hill staffer to bolster his foreign policy credentials - and who could help take on Hillary Clinton in the general election.

Last month, the retired pediatric neurosurgeon added Sara Barrineau, a former investigator for the House Special Committee on Benghazi, as deputy director of foreign policy. Prior to her work on the House Committee, Barrineau worked in the State Department, the National Security Council and in the White House Situation Room. 

Dr. Carson's hire could help in the short-run with foreign policy but might simultaneously put him in a better position to take on Clinton in the general election if Carson becomes the nominee. At the time of the 2012 Benghazi attack, served under Clinton's State Department at the Bureau of Diplomatic Security.

Barrineau went on to work for Benghazi Committee Chair Trey Gowdy (R-S.C.) to investigate events surrounding the attack that resulted in the death of Amb. Chris Stevens and for which Clinton has come under intense scrutiny. In October, Clinton testified before the committee for more than 11 hours about her decisions during the Benghazi attack, which Dr. Carson later called a "lie" in the November GOP debate.