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A congressional investigation of the 2012 attacks on U.S. facilities in Benghazi, Libya, is operating outside rules that require other House committees to publicly disclose how much money they spend and the issues they intend to pursue, according to Democrats on the panel.

The arrangement has added to suspicion among Democrats that the Republican-led committee with no budget constraints or clear end date is politically motivated and aimed primarily at damaging a likely White House run by Hillary Rodham Clinton, who was secretary of state at the time of the attacks in Libya.

The House investigation of Benghazi operates with no limit on its budget or timeframe, according to a letter of protest submitted by Democrats to the House Administration Committee, which oversees the chambers other panels.

The letter calls for a public debate about the amount of additional time and money Congress plans to spend investigating Benghazi, and for a public hearing before the House Administration Committee, as is typically required of other panels.

The Benghazi committee is on course to spend more than $3million in 2015, exceeding the annual budgets of long-standing committees that oversee veterans affairs and other issues, according to the letter.

The letter was signed by all five Democrats on the Benghazi panel, including Elijah E. Cummings (Md.). A spokesman for the Republican chairman of the Benghazi committee, Trey Gowdy (S.C.), declined to comment.

Rep. Candice Miller (R-Mich.), chairman of the House Administration Committee, said in a written response that the issues being raised by Democrats could have been debated on the House floor, and she described the Democrats letter as remarkably odd.

The conflict reflects the extent to which political tensions persist more than two years after Islamist militants killed four Americans in eastern Libya, including the U.S. ambassador to the country, J. Christopher Stevens.

As many as eight previous investigations have rejected many of the most politically charged Benghazi allegations.

A two-year inquiry by the House Intelligence Committee criticized a flawed process that led White House officials to make erroneous assertions about the nature of the Benghazi attack, and concluded that the State Department facility where Stevens was killed had been inadequately protected.

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Rules for Benghazi panel fuel Democrats suspicion of political motive