Ex-Benghazi panel staffer files new lawsuit against Gowdy

WASHINGTON (AP) - A former Republican staffer fired from the House Benghazi committee is filing a new lawsuit against the panel's GOP chairman.

Air Force Reserve Maj. Bradley Podliska says in a complaint Monday that Rep. Trey Gowdy of South Carolina made false statements about him after Podliska sued the committee last month.

Gowdy said then that Podliska was fired for mishandling classified information. Podliska denies that, and his new suit claims Gowdy defamed him.

Podliska says Gowdy's committee was engaged in a partisan investigation of the 2012 attack in Benghazi, Libya, that killed four Americans, including Ambassador Chris Stevens.

Gowdy has disputed that, saying Podliska was overly focused on Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Rodham Clinton. She was secretary of state at the time of the attacks.

A Gowdy spokesman declined immediate comment.