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Washington (CNN) -- Republicans call it a government cover-up similar to what forced Richard Nixon to resign. Democrats call it a right-wing conspiracy theory.

Graham to CNN: Jay Carney 'believes that we're all dumb'

The fallout from the September 11, 2012, terrorist attack in Benghazi, Libya, that killed four Americans continues more than 19 months later, with further details this week that raised questions about how the Obama administration responded to the violence less than two months before the President's re-election.

Few issues reveal the hyper-partisan politics of Washington more than the ongoing debate over an issue now known simply as Benghazi.

On Friday, House Oversight Committee Chairman Darrell Issa announced that he subpoenaed Secretary of State John Kerry to testify at a May 21 hearing, alleging that the State Department failed to comply with an earlier subpoena for documents. Later, House Speaker John Boehner announced a special congressional committee led by a Republican colleague would investigate the matter.

A day earlier, Issa said the transgression was "in violation of any reasonable transparency or historic precedent at least since Richard Milhous Nixon."

The Lead: Documents reinforce White House push about video

At the White House, spokesman Jay Carney shot back that Republicans continued trying to reap political benefit with what he called conspiracy theories about a Benghazi cover-up.

"What we have seen since hours after the attack, beginning with a statement by the Republican nominee for president, is an attempt by Republicans to politicize a tragedy, and that continues today," Carney told reporters Thursday, adding that "what hasn't changed has been the effort by Republicans to ... claim a conspiracy when they haven't been able to find one."

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Benghazi: Cover-up or right-wing conspiracy?

WASHINGTON The accusation was intended to make political reporters bite: U.S. Rep. Suzan DelBene, a Democrat from Medina and supporter of pay parity, pays her female staffers just over half the salaries earned by employees who are male.

Turns out the tabulations by the National Republican Congressional Committee (NRCC) were incorrect; DelBenes five female aides actually make 78 cents for every dollar paid to their nine male colleagues.

Though less damning, that gap is exactly the kind of disparity DelBene and other Democrats have assailed as part of their campaign for paycheck fairness. At the same time, the conflicting math shows how both parties have been less than scrupulous in framing a complex economic issue for political gain.

Tyler Houlton, a spokesman for the NRCC, called DelBene hypocritical for insisting on pay equality while her female congressional staff members earn an average of $33,800, or 53 percent as much as the men. That pay data however, counts only nine full-time workers employed at least a year.

Payroll data provided by DelBenes office for all 14 staffers show a narrower gap: The women draw an average salary of $47,400 compared with $60,500 for the men or 22 percent lower.

Viet Shelton, DelBenes spokesman, said no men and women in her office are performing the same work for different pay. The gender gap, Shelton said, stems from men holding more positions with higher salaries.

Three of the four best-paying jobs are held by men, with DelBenes chief of staff, Aaron Schmidt, drawing the top salary of $125,000. The second-highest salary of $83,000 goes to Legislative Director Lisa Kohn.

The discussion here is about equal pay for equal work, which is something this office takes very seriously, Shelton said by email.

Houlton dismissed the explanation. Democrats, he said, used the same faulty math for their repeated claim that American women earn 77 cents for every dollar for men. DelBene has cited that figure which is not adjusted for experience, occupations and other factors as recently as two weeks ago when she convened a community discussion in Kirkland on the real-life consequences of the gender wage gap.

Houlton called on DelBene to start by addressing the issue in her own office.

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Republicans, DelBene camp clash over gender pay disparity

MILWAUKEE -

Wisconsin Republicans at their annual convention Saturday defeated a tea party-backed resolution demanding that legislators pass bills affirming the state's right to secede and nullifying federal laws.

The GOP's conservative wing in southeastern Wisconsin's 6th Congressional District proposed the measure in March. It called on state lawmakers to uphold the state's right to secede under "extreme circumstances" based on the U.S. Constitution's 10th Amendment, which says powers the Constitution doesn't give the federal government belong to the states.

The measure also called for legislation that would nullify President Barack Obama's health care overhaul, the Common Core academic standards, indefinite detention, any presidential order that circumvents Congress and drone use in Wisconsin.

Rock County delegate Don Hilbig of Beloit tried to convince his fellow convention-goers to adopt the resolution. It's still unclear whether states have a legal right to secede, he said, so the states should reserve that right for themselves.

"The only way secession was considered was on the battlefield," he told the convention, referring to the Civil War. "Of course, secession lost on that. But in the court system, secession is still an open question. So it should be retained as a sovereign right."

Republican officials conscious of a public backlash tried to downplay the resolution. Gov. Scott Walker has said he doesn't support the resolution. And on Friday, 50 Assembly Republicans sent a letter to convention delegates urging them to reject the resolution, calling it a distraction.

"Unfortunately, a small minority of members wish to prove a meaningless point by voting on a resolution regarding secession," the letter said. "We need to win elections and we will not win elections on a platform that includes secession."

Longshot Democratic gubernatorial candidate Brett Hulsey, a state representative from Madison, mocked the delegates over the resolution on Friday evening, standing outside their hotel dressed as a Confederate soldier.

Ultimately, the delegates approved a motion on a voice vote to strip the secession language from the resolution. They then rejected a motion to reinsert it and struck down the entire proposal on voice votes.

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Republicans nix secession resolution

Reid Chides Boehner and House Republicans on Immigration Overhaul
Majority Leader Harry Reid is returning the favor to Speaker John A. Boehner, after Boehner mocked his colleagues last week over their reluctance to take up ...

By: Roll Call

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Reid Chides Boehner and House Republicans on Immigration Overhaul - Video

Speaker Boehner Says He Was Having Fun When He Mock Republicans - Lou Dobbs Commentary
Speaker Boehner Says He Was Having Fun When He Mock Republicans - Lou Dobbs Commentary =========================================== **Please Click Below to...

By: Mass Tea Party

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Speaker Boehner Says He Was Having Fun When He Mock Republicans - Lou Dobbs Commentary - Video