One might assume that with such a high level of cooperation, State would have long ago handed over all relevant documents. But that is apparently not the case.

Administration asserts executive privilege against Benghazi committee http://t.co/FsHz1Gv0R2

— Washington Examiner (@dcexaminer) July 1, 2015

The State Department has informed the House Select Committee on Benghazi that it is withholding "a small number" of documents from investigators on the basis of "important executive branch institutional interests." The statement, made in a letter from Assistant Secretary of State Julia Frifield to committee chairman Rep. Trey Gowdy, amounts to a de facto claim of some form of executive branch privilege.

Frifield made the claim in a letter turning over 3,600 pages of Benghazi-related documents from three current and former administration officials: Susan Rice, Jake Sullivan, and Cheryl Mills. Rice, a former United Nations ambassador, is now national security adviser, while Sullivan and Mills are close aides to Hillary Clinton who worked at the department when she was secretary of state.

The State Department has long insisted that it is fully cooperating with lawmakers investigating the Sept. 11, 2012, terrorist attack. One might assume that with such a high level of cooperation, State would have long ago handed over all relevant documents. But that is apparently not the case.