Benghazi timeline: How the probe unfoldedAs soon as it was revealed that U.S. diplomatic offices in Benghazi, Libya, had been attacked on the Sept. 11, 2012, leaving four Americans -- Ambassador Christopher Stevens, Sean Smith with the U.S. Foreign Service, Glen Doherty and Tyrone S. Woods -- all dead, questions arose over how it could have been allowed to happen.
Obama administration officials initially gave differing explanations, and the ensuing political firestorm over what they knew, and when, is still raging in Washington. In early May, three "whistleblowers" appeared before a congressional committee and gave accounts of the events preceding, during and after the attacks that differed from previous administration responses.
President Obama on Monday forcefully dismissed the ongoing controversy over the talking points that the administration initially crafted to describe the attacks, calling it a politically-motivated "sideshow" that "defies logic."
The following is a timeline of events that begins on the day after the attacks on the U.S. outposts in Benghazi.