The room broke into laughter as Mr. Nadler looked up in apparent disbelief at the breach of decorum, but then grinned himself and let it slide, noting that he did not enforce the five-minute rule during Mr. Whitaker’s opening statement. Mr. Nadler then directed Mr. Whitaker to “answer the question, please.”Mr. Whitaker’s retorts to lawmakers soon irked Democrats. Attorney General, we are not joking here,” said Representative Sheila Jackson Lee, Democrat of Texas, during one exchange. “I want to be very specific about this, Mr. Chairman, because I think it will allay a lot of fears that have existed among this committee, among the legislative branch, largely, and maybe amongst some American people,” Mr. Whitaker said. “We have followed the special counsel’s regulations to a T. There’s been no event, no decision that has required me to take any action, and I’ve not interfered in any way with the special counsel’s investigation.”Mr. Whitaker pointedly declined at multiple points, though, to defend Mr. Mueller and his investigation from accusations by Mr. Trump or others that he was conducting a “witch hunt.”Several moments in Mr. Whitaker’s testimony were notable because they raised potential tensions with news reports.

Source: New York Times February 08, 2019 20:55 UTC