"The sense I got was that I needed to stop the line of questioning."

Gregory Hicks "was soon given a scathing review of his management style, he said, and was later 'effectively demoted' to desk officer at headquarters, in what he believes was retaliation for speaking up."

Mr. Hicks offered an unbecoming view of political supervision and intimidation inside the Obama administration. When Representative Jason Chaffetz, Republican of Utah, visited Libya after the attack, Mr. Hicks said his bosses told him not to talk to the congressman. When he did anyway, and a State Department lawyer was excluded from one meeting because he lacked the necessary security clearance, Mr. Hicks said he received an angry phone call from Mrs. Clinton’s chief of staff, Cheryl Mills.