This Is the Scathing Benghazi Ad the RNC Created Last Year But Never Ran

Image source: ABC News

ABC News has obtained a Benghazi attack ad that was created by the Republican National Committee but never aired during the 2012 campaign.

The 40-second spot starts with part of Hillary Clinton's famous "3 a.m. phone call" ad from the 2008 campaign.

"The call came on September 11, 2012," words say over images of the burning diplomatic mission in Benghazi. The screen goes black, then: "Security requests denied. Four Americans dead. And an administration whose story is still changing." What sounds like gunfire and shouting is heard, then a single shot. "The call came. Americans deserve answers."

ABC reported that RNC leadership approved the ad, but that it was shelved last-minute because of "objections from the Romney campaign, which was concerned the ad would distract from Romney’s efforts to focus on the economy."

On Friday, Republican strategist Karl Rove's American Crossroads released its own video specifically attacking then-Secretary of State Clinton's handling of the attack.

It highlights testimony from Gregory Hicks, who was the deputy chief of mission in Libya at the time, and came forward as a whistleblower to the House Oversight Committee on Wednesday. Hicks recounted briefing Clinton at 2 a.m. about the assault, and then his shock upon seeing Clinton and United Nations Ambassador Susan Rice blame an anti-Islam video.

"Why did she blame a video? And was she part of a coverup?" the narrator says.

The video then goes to Clinton's "What difference at this point does it make?" blowup during her congressional testimony earlier this year.

“The difference is a coverup, and four American lives that deserve the truth,” the narrator says.

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• Benghazi Whistleblower: I Was ‘Demoted’ After Questioning Susan Rice’s Talking Points
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• Started as a ‘Routine Day’: The Full, Unbelievable & Detailed Timeline Given by One Benghazi Whistleblower
• The RNC Benghazi attack ad that never ran