The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel fact-checked the essay that I wrote for the paper about why it makes a difference that the administration lied to America about the al-Qaida-linked attack on our diplomats in Benghazi.

Specifically, the paper’s PolitiFact operation checked my assertion about the most outrageous failure by the administration, that the “State Department not only failed to honor repeated requests for additional security but instead actually reduced security in Libya.”

PolitiFact summed it up this way:

“State Department headquarters in Washington did refuse repeated requests from its ambassador in Libya for more security personnel. And it decided not to accept an offer from the Defense Department to extend the stay of one of its security units in Libya, reducing the level of security that was available.

“We rate Johnson’s statement True.”

The verdict doesn’t surprise me, given how exhaustively the preliminary investigations have documented this, but it's nice to have PolitiFact confirm my statement.

If you’d like to read what I have read on the matter, you can start with:

The Senate Intelligence Committee finding that Ambassador Chris Stevens made repeated requests for more security.

The interim progress report from five House committees finding that Stevens repeatedly requested help from his superiors and didn’t get it.

The report from the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee that the State Department did not adequately support requests for more security.

The reports from the House Armed Services Committee and the House Foreign Affairs majority that the State Department actually cut security.

You can read State Department official Charlene Lamb’s testimony that the inadequate security was not the result of any shortfall of funding, something the Washington Post’s fact-checker agreed with.

Dig in as far as you want: The fact is that the State Department, including then-Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, failed in its duty to provide adequate security. As a result, four Americans serving their country in a dangerous place are dead.

I have found it interesting that ever since the Journal Sentinel published my essay on Benghazi, the Democrats have been muted in their criticism of my points, to say the least – even as they have been frantic in denouncing most Republicans who dare to suggest there are still too many things we do not yet know about the debacle in Benghazi.

Why? I can only guess that Democrats do not want to draw any attention to the points I made regarding Clinton's dereliction of duty and her craven political cover-up. What difference does it make? It matters because the surviving family and friends of those who perished in Benghazi, along with every American, deserve to be told – and to know – the truth.