Rep. Darrell Issa, former chairman of the House Oversight Committee, crashed a closed House Select Committee on Benghazi hearing with Hillary Clinton adviser Sidney Blumenthal on Tuesday before he was escorted out by Rep. Trey Gowdy, the committee's chairman.
The committee was taking a deposition from Blumenthal when Issa walked into the closed session,
according to The Hill, and about a minute later, Issa walked out of the hearing with Gowdy.
"The pair briefly exchanged hushed words in a nearby hallway before Issa stormed off, throwing an empty soda can into a nearby trash bin," wrote The Hill's Martin Matishak. "Gowdy returned to the private session after the incident. 'Sorry about that,' he said as he went back in."
When asked about Issa's appearance at the hearing during a break, Gowdy said, "You'll have to ask Chairman Issa."
The brief exchange between Gowdy and Issa was caught video and posted on Vine.
Issa led his own investigation into the 2012 attack on the U.S. diplomatic compound in Libya while leading the oversight committee. Gowdy is conducting a special select committee on the investigation,
reported the Washington Post.
Gowdy later told
NBC News that he was simply following rules for the deposition that were already established.
"I'm a prosecutor, we always follow the rules," said Gowdy. "[Issa] is not a [Benghazi] committee member and non-committee members are not allowed in the room during the deposition. Those are the rules and we have to follow them, no exceptions made."
Blumenthal was being quizzed by the select committee about nearly 60 emails he sent to Clinton, currently the leading Democratic candidate for president, while she served as secretary of state, noted NBC News.
Gowdy told reporters last week that the emails will be released to the public in keeping with the House rules. The State Department has so far released more than 800 pages of emails sent and received on Clinton's private email server during her time as secretary of state.
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