CIA chief asks Benghazi survivors to testify on attack

Sept. 12, 2012: Libyans walk on the grounds of the gutted U.S. consulate in Benghazi, Libya, after an attack that killed four Americans, including Ambassador Chris Stevens. (AP)

WASHINGTON – CIA Director John Brennan is making public his letter to CIA employees who survived the attacks on U.S. facilities in Benghazi, Libya, that requests they share their firsthand accounts with the congressional intelligence committees.

In the letter dated May 30, 2013, released to The Associated Press by the CIA, Brennan tells his employees that lawmakers asked to hear from them directly. But he adds that speaking to Congress is "completely voluntary" and can be done either through the CIA or confidentially, without informing CIA management.

The disclosure follows media reports that the CIA has been preventing employees from talking to lawmakers about the incident.

The nightlong attacks by militants on Sept. 11, 2012, killed Ambassador Chris Stevens and three other Americans, including two members of the CIA's security team.