NC House candidate says Blumenthal never had a stake in her family’s company

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WILMINGTON, NC (WECT) - State House Candidate Holly Grange says Sidney Blumenthal, a controversial figure in the Benghazi hearings, never had a financial stake in her family's company but that he did work for an organization interested in partnering with the Wilmington-based military contractor.

Grange, a Republican, is seeking the House District 20 seat currently held by Rep. Rick Catlin, who said he will not seek re-election in 2016. New Hanover County School Board Member Tammy Covil also plans to run in the GOP primary.

Covil responded Wednesday to an email news release announcing Grange's intention to run for Catlin's seat. In the response, Covil writes:

"I look forward to getting to know you better over the next few months. I'm especially interested to hear why emails between Sydney Blumenthal and Hillary Clinton, which surfaced during the Bengazi hearings last month, indicate that while Mr. Blumenthal was pushing Secretary Clinton to war in Libya, he was privately lobbying to secure lucrative contracts for your company, Osprey Global Solutions. According to several articles, Mr. Blumenthal appears to own a financial interest in Osprey Global Solutions as well."

Covil included a section from an October 8 online report posted by National Review, which cited a letter from Congressman Trey Gowdy (R-Georga), the Chairman of the House Benghazi Committee to Rep. Elijah Cummings (D-Maryland), the ranking Democrat on the Committee:

"Between the start of the Libyan uprising and the time when American missiles first hit Tripoli, Blumenthal lobbied tirelessly for a U.S. military intervention against the Libyan dictator Mummer Qaddafi. "Perhaps more disturbing is that at the same time Blumenthal was pushing Secretary Clinton to war in Libya," Gowdy wrote, "he was privately pushing a business interest of his own in Libya that stood to profit from contracts with the new Libyan government - a government that would exist only after a successful U.S. intervention in Libya that deposed Qaddafi."

"Blumenthal owned a financial stake in Osprey Global Solutions, a military contractor seeking to do business with the Libyan rebels. Using intelligence from Cody Shearer, another longtime Clinton hanger-on, and Tyler Drumheller, an ex-CIA spy, he urged then-Secretary Clinton to support the Libyan rebels' plans to hire Western military contractors. National Review reported in May that, due to Blumenthal's ties to both Osprey and top Libyan rebel figures, those communications may have violated foreign-lobbying law."

"Mr. Blumenthal does not now nor has he ever had any financial stake in Osprey Global Solutions," Grange said in a telephone interview Thursday.

According to the Osprey Global Solutions website, Holly Grange serves as the company's director of community affairs. Her husband, David Grange, is president and CEO.

Grange said an ongoing investigation limits what she can say about Blumenthal. She confirmed that her husband met once with Blumenthal but that she never did.

Grange said her husband traveled to Libya at Osprey's expense, but that his company never received a contract there.

"My husband went over there purely because he was doing a survey for a humanitarian mission," Grange said.

Grange said Blumenthal had a business relationship with "an organization that wanted to partner with Osprey depending upon what the mission would be and whether Osprey could provide support for that mission."

Grange said neither she nor her husband contributed to the campaigns of Bill or Hillary Clinton or the Clinton Global Initiative (CGI). Osprey has not donated to CGI, she said.

Covil released the following statement Thursday afternoon:

"Holly Grange's attempt to avoid serious questions regarding her company's business dealings with Sidney Blumenthal, a known Clinton operative and crony capitalist, will not deter the public's quest for answers. Her military service is not, nor has it ever been, in question. She seeks to represent the residents of District 20 in the North Carolina House of Representatives; therefore, the fact that Mr. Blumenthal was actively lobbying to secure lucrative contracts on behalf of her company, Osprey Global Solutions, and that these efforts surfaced in Secretary Clinton's email communications during the Benghazi hearings, are more than relevant to the position Ms. Grange is pursuing.
The last thing the people of North Carolina need is to send another person to the state house that seeks to line his or her pockets through government connections and surreptitious contracts.
The people of New Hanover County are demanding answers. It appears that Ms. Grange is not listening."