House Democratic leadership met once Wednesday morning. Pelosi picks Dems for Benghazi panel 
 
 House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi — after a heated debate over the issue within her caucus — officially tapped five Democrats to the special committee charged with investigating the Benghazi attacks. 
 
 Democratic Reps. Elijah Cummings (Md.), Adam Smith (Wash.), Adam Schiff (Calif.), Linda Sanchez (Calif.) and Tammy Duckworth (Ill.) will serve on the panel, which is headed by South Carolina Republican Trey Gowdy. 
 
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 “The Republican approach does not prevent the unacceptable and repeated abuses by Chairman Issa in any meaningful way,” Pelosi said. “That is all the more reason to participate, to be there to fight for a fair hearing and process.” 
 
 ( Also on POLITICO: Dems undecided on Benghazi panel) 
 
 Cummings will serve as the select committee’s ranking member. The lead Democrat on the House Oversight Committee, Cummings has often served as a sparring partner over Benghazi with Chairman Darrell Issa (R-Calif.). 
 
 “I feel that I owe it to the families of Ambassador Stevens and the other brave Americans who lost their lives to bring some minimal level of balance to this process and to check false claims whenever I can,” Cummings said. “I believe we need someone in that room to defend the truth.” 
 
 Smith, Schiff and Duckworth have responsibilities related to defense and foreign service as part of their other committee assignments. 
 
 The selection of five seasoned lawmakers signals that Democrats are preparing for a contentious process and see a need for the members to act as a check on the Republicans’ investigation. 
 
 The announcement comes after Pelosi (D-Calif.) and Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) met for an hour Tuesday to negotiate over the probe. 
 
 ( Also on POLITICO: House GOP gears up on Benghazi) 
 
 The committee will have its first meeting, a planning session, on Thursday. 
 
 Appointing Democrats to the panel marks a departure for Pelosi, who initially didn’t want to dignify the committee by naming any Democrats to it. Her perspective changed, however, after fellow Democrats said she should appoint at least a few Democrats to sit on it in order to counter claims by Republicans. Some Democrats also felt the party should be represented if Republicans subpoena high-level Obama administration officials, including former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton. 
 
 “I could have gone at this either way. Why give any validity to this effort?” Pelsoi said. “But I do think it is important for the American people to have a pursuit of these questions done in a fair … and balanced way.” 
 
 The committee, which the House agreed to create earlier this month in a party-line vote, created seven seats for Republicans and five for Democrats. 
 
 Democrats want greater power to consult with the committee’s chairman, Gowdy, on witness lists, testimony and subpoenas. They initially also sought to have an equal number of Democrats and Republican serve on the panel. 
 
 Pelosi said she was unable to reach an agreement with Boehner and hoped Cummings and Gowdy would be able to craft an agreement on the panel’s terms. 
 
 A House GOP leadership aide said, “We have offered assurances on committee procedures, but no substantive changes that could hurt the investigation.” 
 
 The committee was created after emails from White House deputy national security adviser Ben Rhodes were released showing Rhodes discussing “goals” for the Sunday shows following the attacks. Republicans were furious that the records, which were obtained by Judicial Watch, were more detailed than documents provided to congressional investigators. 
 
 Republicans say the White House misled congressional investigators and want the probe to delve into the lax security at the Benghazi compound before the attacks and the Obama administration’s response. 
 
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 Benghazi ||||| House Republicans will convene a select committee to investigate the 2012 Benghazi terrorist attacks — a dramatic move that is sure to rev up the GOP base ahead of the midterm elections. 
 
 The creation of the panel, which Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) announced on Friday, comes the same day that House Oversight and Government Reform Committee Chairman Darrell Issa (R-Calif.) issued a subpoena to force Secretary of State John Kerry to testify about the attacks. 
 
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 Together, the steps signal a bold escalation of the Republican strategy to find the Obama administration at fault for its handling of the Benghazi attacks, which left U.S. Ambassador Chris Stevens and three other Americans dead. They come after internal White House emails were released this week that Republicans say prove the administration lied about its role in drafting talking points about the attack. 
 
 (Also on POLITICO: Lindsey Graham: White House officials ‘scumbags’) 
 
 “These revelations compel the House to take every possible action to ensure the American people have the truth about the terrorist attack on our consulate that killed four of our countrymen,” Boehner said in a statement announcing his intent to create the select committee. 
 
 It’s unclear who will chair the panel, but leadership aides said Rep. Trey Gowdy (R-S.C.) is being seriously considered for the post. 
 
 By convening a select committee and demanding that Kerry testify, House Republicans are assuring that scrutiny of the White House over Benghazi — a topic that energizes the GOP base — will remain strong in the months ahead of the midterm elections. 
 
 (Also on POLITICO: McKeon disses Issa over Benghazi witness) 
 
 It will also raise new questions about whether Republicans are trying to cause political headaches for Hillary Clinton, who led the State Department at the time of the attacks and is now the overwhelming early choice for Democratic voters to be their presidential nominee in 2016. 
 
 Democrats will likely try to go on the political offensive over the Benghazi select committee, saying it once again shows Republicans’ determination to score partisan political points against President Barack Obama than to do any serious legislating. 
 
 “These actions are not a responsible approach to congressional oversight, they continue a trend of generating unnecessary conflict for the sake of publicity, and they are shockingly disrespectful to the Secretary of State,” said Rep. Elijah Cummings, the top Democrat on the Oversight panel. 
 
 (WATCH: Latest videos on Benghazi) 
 
 A spokesperson for Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi said Boehner did not inform Democrats about his plans to create a select committee. 
 
 A State Department official said Kerry had plans to be in Mexico on May 21 — the date Issa requested his presence. 
 
 “I’m not sure the Secretary is even aware of the request. He’s scheduled to be in Mexico on the 21st, which the House Oversight Committee would have known if they had reached out to us instead of issuing a subpoena by tweet,” the official said. 
 
 Issa is asking the secretary of state to testify before his committee on May 21. 
 
 (Also on POLITICO: Obama, Merkel: 'Differences' remain on surveillance) 
 
 Boehner has been under pressure from his conservative rank and file for months to take more forceful action on Benghazi. The release this week of internal White House emails further upset those on the right who accuse the Obama administration of attempting to downplay the seriousness of the attack. 
 
 At a Thursday hearing, some Republicans accused the Obama administration of potentially criminal behavior over allegations that the White House withheld emails authored by Deputy National Security Adviser Ben Rhodes discussing the attack in Libya. 
 
 “The State Department’s response to the congressional investigation of the Benghazi attack has shown a disturbing disregard for the Department’s legal obligations to Congress,” Issa wrote to Kerry as he issued the subpoena. 
 
 Issa had previously issued a subpoena for Benghazi-related documents but said in an interview on Thursday that the White House provided Congress with overly redacted emails that did not detail Rhodes’ involvement with drafting talking points for then-U.N. Ambassador Susan Rice to appear on the Sunday shows. 
 
 A more complete email was later released by the group Judicial Watch, which obtained the documents through a Freedom of Information Act request. 
 
 “The new emails released this week were the straw that broke the camel’s back. The speaker was furious to learn that the administration withheld relevant documents from a congressional subpoena. He’s sick and tired of this evasion and obstruction from the administration, and wants a solution to finally force accountability, get the truth and provide justice,” said a GOP leadership aide. 
 
 The leadership aide said Boehner moved forward with the select committee after seeing the previously unreleased documents, which the aide describes as a new level of “stonewalling and obfuscation by the administration that requires a new level of investigation.” 
 
 When the documents from Judicial Watch were released this week, House Republicans were enraged to see Rhodes discussing “goals” for the media appearances. The White House has consistently said Rice’s comments were drafted by the CIA. 
 
 Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) has called the emails a “smoking gun.” Speaking on a radio show, Graham also called administration officials “scumbags.” Sen. John McCain, meanwhile, said the White House response to the attack was a “political exercise.” 
 
 The talking points reference to an anti-Islamic YouTube video, which the White House blamed in the days after the Sept. 11 attack for launching an uprising — a conclusion Republicans have rejected as false. 
 
 A White House spokesperson said the email reflected the officials’ understanding of what happened on the ground at that time. 
 
 It’s now clear that Islamic gunmen had planned the attack. 
 
 “Compliance with a subpoena for documents is not a game. Because your Department is failing to meet its legal obligations, I am issuing a new subpoena to compel you to appear before the Committee to answer questions about your agency’s response to the congressional investigation of the Benghazi attack,” Issa wrote to Kerry.
– Democrats have chosen their Benghazi strategy: Instead of boycotting a special committee set up by Republicans to investigate the attack, they're going to play along. Nancy Pelosi today picked five Democrats to sit on the panel following what Politico calls a "heated debate" within the party on the best way to proceed. The New York Times sums up the rationale: While deciding to participate lends credibility to the panel, Democrats now have a chance "to influence the direction of the hearings and get access to documents and other evidence that could be presented." The individuals selected also are notable because four of them have served on committees that have previously investigated Benghazi and thus will be able to call out committee chair Trey Gowdy if he traffics in old news, notes the Times. The five are Elijah Cummings, Adam Smith, Adam Schiff, Linda Sanchez, and Tammy Duckworth, reports the Wall Street Journal. The committee will meet for the first time tomorrow.