Obama defends UN ambassador Susan Rice

Calling the criticism outrageous, the US president said they should "go after me" and not her.

At issue are statements Rice's statements made five days after the attack in Benghazi that killed Ambassador Chris Stevens and three other Americans.

Speaking on a number of US news talk shows, she attributed the incident to the outrage in the Arab world over an anti-Muslim video produced in the US and not an act of terrorism.

The White House later corrected that claim but contends that her statements were in line with what was known at the time.

Speaking on Wednesday, Obama said the administration is providing all information regarding the attack on the consulate in Benghazi to members of Congress.

"We have provided every bit of information that we have and we will continue to provide information and we've got a full blown investigation and all that information will be disgorged to Congress," he said.

Obama pushed back against Republican senators who say they will do whatever is necessary to block Rice's nomination if the president picks her to replace Hillary Rodham Clinton as secretary of state.

Earlier on Wednesday, Senators John McCain, Lindsey Graham and Kelly Ayotte called for a special investigation committee to be formed to look into why the consulate in Benghazi was attacked and why the State Department allegedly ignored calls for additional security in Libya.

"Let's see what happens here, but we will do whatever is necessary to block the nomination that's within our power as far as Susan Rice is concerned," said McCain.

President Obama said if McCain wanted to go after someone, he should challenge the president, not Rice.

"I'm happy to have that discussion with them," he said.

"But for them to go after the UN Ambassador who had nothing to do with Benghazi and was simply making a presentation based on intelligence that she had received, and to besmirch her reputation is outrageous," he added.

The senators pressed for a special Senate committee to investigate the attack, saying that separate inquiries by various Senate panels will fail to get to the truth and that a comprehensive probe "up to and including the president of the United States" was warranted.

They introduced a Senate resolution calling for the special committee on Wednesday afternoon, drawing immediate Democratic opposition and doubts from some Republicans.

"This administration has either been guilty of colossal incompetence or engaged in a cover-up," McCain said on the Senate floor shortly after introducing the resolution.