By Ben Barrack

Assuming events don’t transcend the Benghazi scandal (difficult to imagine), when the House Select Committee’s investigation is complete, one of two things will be learned. Either the American people will know when Rep. Trey Gowdy reached his breaking point or the former prosecutor from South Carolina will become an icon millions of Americans will gladly nominate as the next inductee into the country’s figurative, historical hall of fame.

Rep. Trey Gowdy

The truth about Benghazi is really that bad. In fact, it’s so bad that should Gowdy – as he says – go wherever the facts lead, some extremely powerful and diabolical forces will be bearing down on him in ways many cannot comprehend. If he can withstand it, the most powerful figures and institutions in the U.S. Government will be suffering mortal blows; that’s a very tall order.

Conversely – and if you believe every man has a breaking point – Gowdy could buckle to that pressure, like the 9/11 Commission did. Instead of going up the chain to the sources of the Islamic terrorism behind 9/11 – the Saudi Royal family – that commission let the real perpetrators off the hook.

When it comes to Benghazi, Gowdy should factor in the problem of Muslim Brotherhood infiltration of the U.S. Government. Rep. Michele Bachmann attempted to do this in 2012 but was smeared by more members of her own party than who supported her. The reason this is so important is because regardless of what group the Benghazi attackers came from, each group resides under the Muslim Brotherhood umbrella.

In addition to Hillary Clinton’s closest adviser – Huma Abedin – being connected to both the Muslim Brotherhood and the Saudis, it was revealed earlier this month that one of the recipients of the ‘smoking gun’ email by White House Deputy Ben Rhodes on 9/14/12 included a Muslim Brotherhood agent on the distribution list – Mehdi K. Alhassani.

There is also the issue of Muslim Brotherhood’s Egyptian arm being involved in the attacks. This poses additional problems because at the time of the Benghazi attack, the Muslim Brotherhood was the official government of Egypt. It would mean that the U.S. installations in Benghazi were on the receiving end of an act of war by a nation state.

If Gowdy really wants the truth, he will need to subpoena the eight members of Congress who allegedly received a “highly classified” annex to the recent Senate Select Committee on Intelligence (SSCI) report. That annex allegedly explains what the U.S. operation in Benghazi was all about – international weapons trafficking. According to legendary journalist Seymour Hersh, CIA Director David Petraeus was in charge of the operation being run out of the Benghazi Annex.

That operation involved rounding up the weapons in Libya used during the removal of Muammar Gadhafi and ship them to Syria via Turkey. According to Hersh’s sources, the governments of Saudi Arabia, Qatar, and Turkey funded the operation. After the attacks on 9/11/12, the operation was halted and the shipments ceased.

Turkey’s Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan was allegedly outraged this ‘rat line’ dried up and wanted the Obama administration to declare that Bashar al-Assad’s regime crossed Obama’s ‘red line’ so that the U.S. would have justification for publicly getting involved in ousting Assad.

There were attempts by the Erdogan administration to pressure Obama to do this between the time of the Benghazi attacks and the chemical attack that occurred in Syria in August of 2013.

Inexplicably, politicians on both sides of the political aisle advocated air strikes on Assad in response. Despite a lack of evidence that Assad was responsible – and plenty of evidence that the rebels were – even Republican members of Congress continued to call for air strikes.

According to Hersh, not only was Assad not involved but he was framed – by Erdogan.

Rep. Mike Rogers: Should be Subpoenaed by Gowdy on Benghazi.

U.S. Senators like John McCain (R-AZ) and Bob Corker (R-TN) maintained a very suspicious position that Assad was responsible while they ignored facts. Speaker John Boehner (R-OH) – the man responsible for appointing Gowdy to the House Select Committee – also expressed support for airstrikes. So did House Intelligence Committee chairman Rep. Mike Rogers (R-MI), who would have been one of the eight members of Congress who received that ‘highly classified’ annex to the SSCI report; ditto Boehner.

If Gowdy is truly up to the Benghazi challenge, he will need to subpoena or depose the man who appointed him to head the committee – Boehner – about that the annex to the SSCI report. He will also need to ask Boehner what the Speaker knew when he told talk radio show host Laura Ingraham that he was aware of weapons being shipped to Turkey from Benghazi. Gowdy will also need to subpoena or depose Petraeus, Rogers, and several other Republicans in addition to the suspect Democrats who either worked in the administration at the time of the attacks or are still doing so.

To this point, Gowdy has demonstrated the mettle necessary to confront corruption and fight for justice, regardless of what that fight requires. He doesn’t just get witnesses to make themselves look foolish; he also makes other Congressmen look foolish as well.

For example, during the Oversight Committee’s hearing on whether to vote to hold former IRS official Lois Lerner in contempt, Gowdy challenged his Democrat colleagues on the other side of the aisle to answer his questions. None did:

Gowdy also thoroughly embarrassed media figures during a news conference in January. None responded:

When it comes to expectations, Rep. Gowdy has passed the test with conservatives thirsting for a man driven by a desire to see that justice is served, corruption is dealt with, and accountability means consequences for misdeeds. How he handles the Benghazi investigation is nearly certain to be the biggest test of his life.

When it’s over, the American people will know if he was up to it.

Cross-posted at WBDaily.com