WASHINGTON - A former investigator with the congressional panel probing the deadly 2012 attack on the American mission in Benghazi, Libya is accusing Republicans of carrying out a "partisan investigation" targeting US presidential contender Hillary Clinton.
File picture shows a burnt house and a car inside the US Embassy compound in September, 2012 in Benghazi, Libya following an attack which left the US ambassador to Libya and three of his colleagues dead
Major Bradley Podliska, an intelligence officer in the Air Force Reserve, is preparing to file a lawsuit against the House Select Committee on Benghazi next month, saying he was fired in part because he opposed the panel's decision to focus primarily on the role of Clinton during her time at the helm of the US State Department.
The former secretary of state is the frontrunner in the Democratic race for the presidential nomination.
Podliska, who describes himself as a conservative Republican, also claims he lost his job because he took leave for several weeks from the committee to fulfill his military service obligations, which would be an unlawful firing if true.
"I knew that we needed to get the truth to the victims' families," he told CNN's "State of the Union" in an interview to air on Sunday.
"The victims' families, they deserve the truth -- whether or not Hillary Clinton was involved, whether or not other individuals were involved," Podliska said.
"The victims' families are not going to get the truth, and that's the most unfortunate thing about this."
The committee, however, strongly disputed Podliska's claims, insisting he was "terminated for cause" due to his own "improper partiality" against Clinton and other members of President Barack Obama's administration.
The committee said in a statement that Podliska had sought to use its resources to create a "PowerPoint 'hit piece' on members of the Obama administration -– including secretary Clinton," it said in a statement, adding that the reasons for his firing were "directly contrary to his brand new assertion."
- 'Ugly chapter ' -
The top Democrat on the panel, Elijah Cummings, said the "extremely serious" whistleblower charges show that "Republicans have been abusing millions of taxpayer dollars for the illegitimate purpose of damaging Hillary Clinton's bid for president."
Podliska told CNN that the panel -- chaired by Republican Representative Trey Gowdy -- diverted resources from investigations of other individuals and agencies to focus almost exclusively on Clinton and the State Department.
Clinton, who served as the top US diplomat for four years, is due to testify publicly before the committee for the first time on October 22.
The ranking Democrat on the House Intelligence Committee, Representative Adam Schiff, called for an end to the Benghazi panel, which has cost taxpayers some $4.5 million so far.
"Only by ending this expensive and politicized investigation can we begin to undo the damage already done through this unprecedented use of Congress's power for nakedly political purposes," he said.
And the top Democrat on the House Armed Services Committee, Adam Smith, agreed. If the allegations are true, "we should slam the door shut on this ugly chapter in American history and close down the Benghazi Committee," he said.
President Barack Obama's administration initially said the attack was the spontaneous act of a mob enraged by a video circulating on the Internet that insulted Muslims.
But days later, the administration said the attack was in fact an act of terrorism. Obama faced re-election less than two months' later.
Critics said the initial accounts -- which blamed mob violence rather than a premeditated terror attack -- sought to mislead the public and avoid angering American voters worried about terrorism.
The State Department has been releasing troves of emails from Clinton's time as secretary of state, some of which are on the subject of the Benghazi attack.