Twitter was abuzz Wednesday afternoon after Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-MN-05) got in a heated exchange with Elliot Abrams, the special envoy to Venezuela.
“I don’t understand why members of this committee or the American people should find any testimony that you give today to be truthful,” Omar said to Abrams, who pleaded guilty in the 1980s to withholding evidence from Congress about his involvement in the Iran-Contra affair. He was later pardoned by President George H.W. Bush.
“If I can respond to that. It was an attack,” Abrams replied, but was cut off by Omar who said she reserves “the right” to her time.
“That was not a question. Thank you for your participation,” Omar said.
“On February 8, 1982, you testified before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee about U.S. policy in El Salvador. In that hearing, you dismissed as communist propaganda report about the massacre of El Mozote, in which more than 800 civilians, including children as young as two-years old, were brutally murdered by U.S.-trained troops. During that massacre, some of those troops bragged about raping a 12-year-old girl before they killed her. You later said that the U.S. policy in El Salvador was a fabulous achievement. Yes or no, do you still think so?” Omar said.
“From the day that President Duarte was elected in a free election, to this day El Salvador has been a democracy. That’s a fabulous achievement,” Abrams responded.
You can view the exchange below:
,@IlhanMN "In 1991 you pleaded guilty … regarding your involvement in Iran-Contra … I fail to understand why [we] should find any testimony that you give today to be truthful"
Elliott Abrams "That was attack. It is not right .. to attack witness who is not permitted to reply" pic.twitter.com/yQq3xYHGxm— Howard Mortman (@HowardMortman) February 13, 2019
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Anthony Gockowski is managing editor of Battleground State News and The Minnesota Sun. Follow Anthony on Twitter. Email tips to [email protected].
Photo “Ilhan Omar” by CSPAN.
