Sen. John McCain said his confusing questions during the James Comey Senate hearing in June were due to a last-minute email from Sen. Lindsey Graham requesting a particular question be asked, McCain explained in an interview with Esquire.
During the hearing, McCain asked why Comey was still investigating possible Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election and Trump’s connection to Russia after concluding the investigation of Hillary Clinton, suggesting a double standard on Comey’s part.
Comey told McCain he was confused by the question.
McCain’s questioning generated 3.6 million tweets, a high point for the hearings, The Republic reported. Shortly afterward, McCain suggested he had stayed up too late watching an Arizona Diamondbacks baseball game.
After his glioblastoma diagnosis in July, some wondered whether the tumor could have caused his fumbling and erratic questioning, but McCain told Esquire the real reason behind the events.
“I had these questions laid out that I had discussed and, honest to God, two minutes before it was my turn, [the aide] hands me this app from Lindsey,” McCain said. As he was reading the email (he called it an app), the screen went black and before he could finish reading it he was called to ask his questions.
As he stood in front of the Senate, he fumbled in his questioning because he was trying to remember the question Graham wanted him to ask. “I f***ed it up,” he told Esquire.
“What I was trying to get at was whether Mr. Comey believes that any of his interactions with the president rise to the level of obstruction of justice,” McCain said after the hearing, Esquire reported.
“It was a colossal screw-up,” McCain concluded to Esquire. “That was such an important hearing. That wasn’t just an ordinary Senate hearing.”
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