In an email dated 9/14/12 at 9:34 p.m. — three days after the attack and two days before Ambassador Rice appeared on the Sunday shows – Deputy National Security Advisor Ben Rhodes wrote an email saying the State Department’s concerns needed to be addressed.
“We must make sure that the talking points reflect all agency equities, including those of the State Department, and we don’t want to undermine the FBI investigation. We thus will work through the talking points tomorrow morning at the Deputies Committee meeting.”
The email acquired by Tapper, visible below, has the same timestamp but a much different message. It reads:
Sorry to be late to this discussion. We need to resolve this in a way that respects all of the relevant equities, particularly the investigation.
There is a ton of wrong information getting out into the public domain from Congress and people who are not particularly informed. Insofar as we have firmed up assessments that don’t compromise intel or the investigation, we need to have the capability to correct the record, as there are significant policy and messaging ramifications that would flow from a hardened mis-impression.
That's a significant difference, changing the perception that the State Department (and the administration) was protecting itself into one that implies that Rhodes' goal was to ensure correct information went out. Republicans have consistently attacked the State Department, then led by likely 2016 Democratic presidential contender Hillary Clinton, for obfuscating the details of the attack. The Rhodes email could offer some measure of exoneration.