The parents of two of the U.S. citizens who were killed in the Benghazi attack in 2012 are suing Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton, who was Secretary of State at the time of the fatal attack in Libya. The parents, Patricia Smith and Charles Woods, are suing Clinton for the wrongful deaths of their sons, Sean Smith and Tyrone Woods, and defamation, according to the New York Times.
The New York Times further reports that the lawsuit claims that Clinton, through use of her private email server while serving as Secretary of State "directly and proximately caused, at a minimum" Smith and Woods' deaths.
Both parents have been actively vocal in criticizing Clinton during the presidential campaign season. Smith spoke at the Republican National Convention in July, telling the crowd,
For all of this loss, for all of this grief, for all of the cynicism the tragedy in Benghazi has wrought upon America, I blame Hillary Clinton. I blame Hillary Clinton personally for the death of my son.
Woods told CNN last week "Clinton proved at Benghazi that she was incapable of protecting 35 of her own employees. So how could she possibly protect 330 million Americans at home?"
Smith and Woods are being represented in the lawsuit by Larry Klayman, a conservative attorney who the New York Times reports has been a long time nemesis of Clinton's. The lawsuit further alleges that Clinton made "false and defamatory statements negligently, recklessly and purposefully and/or intentionally with malice" when commenting on the attacks.
The lawsuit comes after the FBI and the House Select Committee on Benghazi cleared Clinton of any wrongdoing related to the attack in Benghazi. Clinton spokesperson Nick Merrill told the New York Times over email:
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.
