WASHINGTON – House Speaker John Boehner on Monday chose Rep. Trey Gowdy, R-S.C., a former federal prosecutor, to head a special committee that will investigate the deadly Sept. 11, 2012, attack on the U.S. mission in Benghazi, Libya, and the Obama administration's response.

Gowdy has been an outspoken critic of how President Obama and his top aides handled the fallout from the assault, which resulted in the deaths of Ambassador Christopher Stevens and three other Americans, on the 11th anniversary of the 9/11 attacks.

During one of several congressional hearings since the attack, Gowdy ticked off a series of alleged misrepresentations by the Obama administration before yelling, "I want to know why we were lied to!"

On Monday, Gowdy praised Boehner for setting up the panel and said he was honored to lead it.

"Twenty months after the Benghazi attacks, there remain unresolved questions about why the security was inadequate, our response during the siege itself and our government's interaction with the public after the attack," Gowdy said in a ­statement.

At the White House, press secretary Jay Carney declined to say whether the administration would cooperate with the new probe. Carney said the administration has "always cooperated with legitimate oversight," but he wouldn't say whether the White House considers the new inquiry appropriate.

McClatchy News Service