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House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi. (Kathryn Scott Osler, Denver Post file)

WASHINGTON House Democrats opened the door Tuesday to participating in a special panel's investigation of the deadly attack in Benghazi, Libya, even if they say it's little more than an election-year ploy by Republicans to discredit the Obama administration and motivate GOP voters.

Laying out her party's conditions, Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi said Republicans must conduct interviews and share information as part of their new inquest into the Obama administration's response to the Sept. 11, 2012, attack on the U.S. diplomatic post that killed four Americans. She called for the same number of Democrats as Republicans on the panel, a demand the GOP majority immediately rejected.

"If this review is to be fair, it must be truly bipartisan," Pelosi, D-Calif., said in a statement. Later, she told reporters that rank-and-file Democrats are "suspicious of whatever the Republicans are trying to do."

A vote to authorize the probe is expected Thursday. A senior GOP congressman has issued a subpoena to Secretary of State John Kerry to testify before a separate committee. And the subject could surface in other hearings this week.

"Look, we're in the majority for a reason. We have more seats in the House," said Rep. Trey Gowdy, R-S.C., a former prosecutor who will be chairman of the committee. He called Pelosi's comments a "good sign" that she is considering Democratic participation.

Republicans want a 7-5 ratio on the committee.

"Facts really don't come with a color," Gowdy said. "They're not swing-state facts."

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Democrats hint they will participate in Benghazi committee