Democrats criticise Republican for leaking sensitive Libya papers

WASHINGTON (REUTERS) - The United States (US) Senate's number two Democrat and others in his party criticised a Republican House of Representatives committee chairman on Sunday for releasing government documents related to last month's violent attack on the US mission in Benghazi.

Senator Richard Durbin charged that Darrell Issa, chairman of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, had politicised the Benghazi events during a presidential election campaign, in particular by releasing sensitive papers with the names of Libyans who have worked with the United States.

"This idea of Chairman Issa, that he's going to dump the names in public of Libyans who are risking their lives to support America and keep us safe in an effort to get a political toehold in this election is unconscionable. It is unacceptable," Mr Durbin, the Senate's Democratic whip, told Fox News Sunday.

Mr David Axelrod, a campaign adviser to President Barack Obama, also blasted Issa, charging it was "disgraceful" that he had released government papers "to score political points in the final weeks before an election."