OVERNIGHT DEFENSE: GOP ‘more disturbed’ after Rice meeting

The Topline: U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Susan Rice did not satisfy her biggest critics after meeting with them face-to-face Tuesday.

The reaction from the Republican senators after their closed-door meeting with Rice to discuss the Sept. 11 attack in Benghazi, Libya, only raised new doubts about her prospects to become secretary of State.

Sens. John McCain (R-Ariz.), Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) and Kelly Ayotte (R-N.H.) said they were troubled by the answers they heard from Rice and acting CIA Director Michael Morrell.

Graham said he was “more disturbed now” than before her explanation on Sept. 16, when Rice said the Benghazi attack was the result of a spontaneous protest.

The meeting came two days after McCain appeared to soften his line on Rice, stating he wanted to meet with her before making any judgments about her potential confirmation. Before Thanksgiving, McCain and Graham said they would do everything in their power to stop Rice’s confirmation.

The three senators didn’t definitively rule out voting for Rice if President Obama does nominate her as the next secretary of State, but Graham said that before promoting someone involved with Benghazi, they would need to go through a lot more information.

White House press secretary Jay Carney Tuesday accused the three Republicans of having an “obsession” with Rice, saying there were “no unanswered questions” about Rice’s appearances on the Sunday shows after the Sept. 11 attack.

Rice admits no Benghazi protest: After her meeting with the Republican senators, Rice acknowledged she had incorrectly said that the attack in Benghazi was not the result of a protest over an anti-Islam video.

Rice said in a statement after the meeting that she made the incorrect statements due to faulty intelligence and that she did not mean to mislead the public with her comments on television the Sunday after the Sept. 11 attack.

"In the course of the meeting, we explained that the talking points provided by the intelligence community, and the initial assessment upon which they were based, were incorrect in a key respect: there was no protest or demonstration in Benghazi," Rice said. "While we certainly wish that we had had perfect information just days after the terrorist attack, as is often the case, the intelligence assessment has evolved."

It’s unclear whether Rice’s admission that she provided incorrect information or her face-to-face meeting with her GOP critics will be enough to secure her confirmation, should Obama pick her to become secretary of State.

Her comments on the Sunday shows have become a contentious issue in recent days, after Obama defended her at his first post-election press conference earlier this month.

ACLU sues over women in combat: The American Civil Liberties Union is trying to change a ban on women serving in combat, representing four female service members who argue that the Pentagon policy is unconstitutional.

Four female service members and the Service Women’s Action Network filed a lawsuit against Defense Secretary Leon Panetta Tuesday in California.

The suit argues that the women’s careers have been limited by policies that prevent them from joining combat units, and is the latest move in an attempt by advocacy groups as well as some lawmakers to overturn the ban.

Pentagon spokesman George Little declined to comment on the lawsuit, but said that Panetta has expanded the roles of women in the military during his tenure as Defense secretary.

Lieberman gives capstone address: As he winds down his career in the Senate, Sen. Joe Lieberman (I-Conn.) is giving a capstone address Wednesday on homeland security and the United States.

In the speech, which is being sponsored by the Center for Strategic and International Studies and hosted by George Washington University, the Senate Homeland Security chairman will look back at the creation of the Homeland Security agency, as well as forward toward the biggest counter-terrorism challenges in the future.

The speech is the second in two days for Lieberman, who is retiring from the Senate at the end of the year, as he spoke with Sen. Kelly Ayotte (R-N.H.) Tuesday on foreign policy and the Senate.

IN CASE YOU MISSED IT:

— Rice fails to convince GOP on Benghazi
— Women sue over combat ban
— Rice says no protest in Benghazi
— Republican wants to shutter terrorists’ Twitter accounts

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