Administration says it knew of clear ties to terrorism in Benghazi attacks, but info was shaky

WASHINGTON – The Obama administration says now-discredited talking points about the deadly attacks in Libya are being taken out of context — as are emails seeking to revise the talking points.

State Department spokesman Patrick Ventrell told reporters Friday that ties to terrorism in the Benghazi attack were clear early on, but that information was sketchy.

The talking points were originally written for Congress. But before Congress got them, references were deleted to terrorism by the intelligence community, and to prior warnings of a possible attack.

The emails suggest there were political factors involved in deleting the material from the talking points, which were given to U.N. Ambassador Susan Rice for TV Sunday news-show appearances five days after the deadly attack last September.

Ventrell says critics are, quote, "cherry picking" those emails.