And The Award For Worst Questioning Goes To . . . Jim Jordan
I should start this article by noting I did not watch the entire Mueller testimony. I woke up later than I intended so I missed around the first hour or so. (Although, I did have noted media expert my father watch the first half for me so he could catch me up) However, after I did start watching, I became very happy I only saw the second half of it.
Blogger Matt Walsh had a great series of Tweets during the hearing:
First Tweet
“Mr. Mueller, your report says X. Does your report say X?”
“Yes.”
“So, Mr. Mueller, X is what your report states. Is that correct?”
“That’s correct.”
“Mr. Mueller, if I can clarify, X is contained in your report, and thus your report in fact states X.”
“Yes, that is true.”
Second Tweet
“Mr. Mueller please give me a moment to grandstand because there is no other point to this hearing.”
“What?”
“I said I’m going to grandstand for a — “
“Can you repeat that?”
“Never mind, just shut up and let me speechify.”
“Peach pie? No thanks I already ate”
Third Tweet:
It’s hard to keep track of what’s happening in this hearing. It would be great if all of this information was written down somewhere. Like, say, in a report of some kind.
And my personal favorite:
“Mr. Nadler, is it true that you stole your pants from Humpty Dumpty?”
“Can you repeat the question?”
“Humpty Dumpty, Mr. Nadler! Humpty Dumpty!”
“All of that information is in my report.”
There was also this great Tweet from Internet Hippo:
Congressman: It’s a yes or no question —
Me: Sir I can’t —
Congressman: Are you or are you not a sweetie
[crosstalk]
Here’s a general rule for what happened. When a Republican talked, they just complained Mueller didn’t talk about something involving Hillary Clinton. When a Democrat talked, they asked Mueller for more details. Mueller often refused to answer any question asked about him or his report.
One thing I should note is it seems Mueller did not even read his own report. He often showed ignorance to what the report said and was unable to refer to any specific examples of what the report said. This is despite him often referring to the report that he showed complete ignorance of.
Although, maybe he didn’t want to make a positive because this is what happened last time he tried that:
As Director [of Central Intelligence George ]Tenet has pointed out, Secretary [of State Colin] Powell presented evidence last week that Baghdad has failed to disarm its weapons of mass destruction, willfully attempting to evade and deceive the international community.
I should also note not a single person in Congress asked Mueller about his working for Attorney General William Burr back when Barr was Attorney General under the first George Bush.
But now let’s get to the two worse questioners. Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-FL) and Rep. Jim Jordan (R-OH).
Here’s how he summarized his argument on Twitter:
When people associated with @realDonaldTrump lied, you threw the book at them.
When Christopher Steele lied, nothing.
When Glenn Simpson met with Russians, nothing.
When the Trump campaign met with Russians, 3,500 words.
Mueller’s team was biased.
So you admit those on Trump’s team lied?
But in all seriousness, maybe Mueller didn’t investigate them because they weren’t the President of the United States. I’m sure if someone Gene Simpson or Christopher Steele worked for, you would be demanding a similar investigation.
I should also note that Gaetz should not be calling anyone bias when this is one his official campaign website:
Are you tired of Washington sitting on its hands? Are you ready for real conservative reform like repealing Obamacare and putting an end to sanctuary cities?
Join me in the fight by signing the Conservative Action petition today! Let’s send a message that it’s time to stand with President Trump and Make America Great Again!
Jim Jordan annoyed me more. He ended off okay, asking why Mueller could not answer any of his questions, but his start was just nonsense.
Basically, he was angry Mueller never investigated George Papadopoulous. A foreign policy adviser to Trump’s 2016 Presidential Campaign who started the Russian collusion idea through talking to Vladimir Putin.
Maybe Mueller didn’t feel a need to investigate him because Papadopoulous pleaded guilty to lying to the FBI on 10/5/2017. What was Mueller suppose to investigate? The rating his statements would get on Politifacts?
And I haven’t even gotten into the House Intelligence Committee.
