In the end, the only thing we really learned is that Strzok – a government official who exercised terrible judgment in his mode and manner of communicating – is a fallible human being.
(How rich it is that Jordan was separately engaged in his own struggle to fight off allegations of wrongdoing at the very moment he worked to inhibit the ability of a witness to defend himself.) Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, determined the best way to proceed was to consistently interrupt the witness and prevent him from providing any fulsome answers. Trey Gowdy, R-South Carolina, reached into his quiver of snarky remarks, slinging arrows that incredibly bounced off Strzok’s shield of calm self-control.Įmbattled Rep.
Strzok’s demeanor – speaking passionately only when required to defend himself – stood in stark contrast to the grandstanding of committee members. AFP PHOTO/Karen BLEIER (Photo credit should read KAREN BLEIER/AFP/Getty Images) KAREN BLEIER/AFP/Getty Imagesįormer FBI lawyer Lisa Page subpoenaed for House interview on Wednesdayĭespite its efforts to the contrary, Congress succeeded in humanizing someone who has long been a political punching bag of House Republicans and the President of the United States. If no deal is struck by December 31 at midnight, taxes will automatically go up on both high earners and the middle class, and across-the-board spending cuts will go into effect. As the fiscal cliff deadline looms, Congress and the White House have still not reached a compromise. The US Capitol dome and it's reflection are seen on Capitol Hill in Washington, DC on December 29, 2012. Peter Strzok, for his part, sought to explain himself and the batches of personal communications publicly released without context by Congress. Democrats were clearly frustrated at the GOP showboating and badgering of the witness. Republicans, intent on proving the existence of a politically motivated cabal of deep-staters within the FBI, expressed dismay at not receiving answers to questions they expected to be addressed. They were not only ships passing in the night, they weren’t even operating in the same dimension. Instead, we had three separate parties – Republicans, Democrats, and Strzok – talking past each other with differing motivations. There is no question, our present polarized political climate has tempers flaring on both sides of the political aisle, but this raucous hearing did not prove to be the venue for adult discussion. Louie Gohmert, a Texas Republican, offered the following disgusting remark, “When I see you looking there with a little smirk, how many times did you look so innocent into your wife’s eye and lie to her about Lisa Page?” In one exchange impugning Strzok’s integrity, Rep. Instead, the spectacle devolved into a chaotic scene more reminiscent of a bar fight than a congressional hearing, with members of Congress yelling over each other and displaying their complete lack of respect for decorum.
Embattled FBI agent meets with Congress behind closed doors in 11-hour marathon
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