Rep. Trey Gowdy (R-SC), Chair of the House Select Committee on Benghazi, received thousands of dollars in political donations from several conservative super PACs tied to an anti-Hillary group. He has since returned the donations.

Gowdy received $6,000 in donations that are indirectly connected to a super PAC that ran an anti-Clinton ad showing the grave of late US Ambassador J. Christopher Stevens, one of the four Americans killed in the 2012 Benghazi attack. Gowdy returned the money after the Washington Post reported about the close ties between Gowdy and Dan Backer, treasurer of the Stop Hillary PAC, the group that aired the ad.

The $6,000 didn’t come from the Stop Hillary PAC, but in the form of $2,000 each from three other groups, the Conservative Action Fund, Special Operations Speaks PAC, and the Tea Party Leadership Fund. Backer is the treasurer of these three groups.   

Although Gowdy accepted cash from these groups all connected through Backer, the committee chair reportedly turned down money from the Stop Hillary PAC. Nevertheless, the politicization of the Benghazi committee is out of control.

Watch David Pakman address the GOP getting caught editing HRC’s email as part of Benghazi Investigation

For more on this story, visit Talking Points MemoBenghazi Chair Returns Donations Tied To PAC That Ran Nasty Anti-Clinton Ad”

Farron Cousins is the executive editor of The Trial Lawyer magazine and a contributing writer at DeSmogBlog.com. He is the co-host / guest host for Ring of Fire Radio. His writings have appeared on Alternet, Truthout, and The Huffington Post. Farron received his bachelor's degree in Political Science from the University of West Florida in 2005 and became a member of American MENSA in 2009. Follow him on Twitter @farronbalanced