US secretary of state Hillary Clinton suffered a concussion early last week after fainting and striking her head, the US state department disclosed on Saturday.
As a result, she will not testify as scheduled on Thursday before congressional committees investigating the September attack on the American diplomatic outpost in Benghazi, Libya.
The fainting episode occurred after Mrs Clinton, who is being widely discussed as a possible presidential candidate in 2016, became dehydrated because of a stomach virus she contracted during a trip to Europe, according to statements released by a close adviser and her doctors.
One state department official said Mrs Clinton fainted when she was alone at her home in Washington but added that the concussion was not diagnosed until Thursday. He said it was not severe.
William Burns and Thomas Nides, both deputy secretaries of state, will testify to the Senate foreign relations committee and the House foreign affairs committee in Mrs Clinton’s place.
Besides the congressional hearings, the state department is preparing for an eventful week on the Benghazi attack, which had led to partisan fighting about what precipitated the attack and what arrangements were made to defend the compound.
Today an independent panel that was established to investigate the attack is expected to present its report to the state department. It plans to share the report with Congress and will also provide its own recommendations on how security for diplomats can be improved. .
On Thursday, Mr Burns and Mr Nides will testify before the Senate committee and Mrs Clinton is due to testify at some future time.– (New York Times)