2 Benghazi victim parents sue Hillary Clinton, claiming emails caused children's deaths

Patricia Smith blames Hillary Clinton for her son's death in Benghazi at RNC
(Image credit: Robyn Beck/AFP/Getty Images)

On Monday, two parents of Americans killed in the Sept. 11, 2012, terrorist attack on the U.S. diplomatic outpost in Benghazi, Libya, filed a wrongful death lawsuit against Hillary Clinton in federal court, alleging that Clinton's "'extreme carelessness' in handling confidential and classified information" while she was secretary of state helped lead to the deaths of Sean Smith and Tryone Woods, and that their murder "was directly and proximately caused, at a minimum" by Clinton's use of a private server. The parents, Patricia Smith and Charles Woods, also accuse Clinton of "false and defamatory statements" regarding the attack.

Both parents have publicly criticized Clinton before, with Smith saying at the Republican National Convention, "I blame Hillary Clinton personally for the death of my son." The Benghazi attack has been scrutinized numerous times by Congress and other government panels, including a special House committee, a point Clinton spokesman Nick Merrill brought up in responding to the suit: "While no one can imagine the pain of the families of the brave Americans we lost at Benghazi, there have been nine different investigations into this attack and none found any evidence whatsoever of any wrongdoing on the part of Hillary Clinton."

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Peter Weber, The Week US

Peter has worked as a news and culture writer and editor at The Week since the site's launch in 2008. He covers politics, world affairs, religion and cultural currents. His journalism career began as a copy editor at a financial newswire and has included editorial positions at The New York Times Magazine, Facts on File, and Oregon State University.