After Sally Yates humiliated them, Republican Senators Ted Cruz and John Cornyn got up and left
Former acting Attorney General Sally Yates testified today before Congress in Donald Trump’s Russia scandal, and she had productive exchanges with a number of Democratic and Republican Senators. But a few Republican Senators tried to show up Yates in partisan fashion. Yates came out on the better end of the clashes, and shortly afterward, two of them simply got up and left.
Republican Senators Ted Cruz and John Cornyn each used their allotted time to question Sally Yates in a hostile manner. In both instances, Yates left them looking foolish for having tried. Yates demonstrated a more sophisticated understanding of the law and constitution than Cruz, and she withstood Cornyn’s outright rudeness. According to multiple reports (link), Cruz and Cornyn both left the room after they lost their showdowns with Yates.
In fairness, it’s not a given that either Senator got up and left as a result of having been humiliated by Sally Yates; it’s entirely possible they simply had somewhere else they had to be in accordance with their job duties. But at the least, the image of the two Republicans fleeing the room after trying and failing to push around Yates was a development that didn’t make for a good look. And they weren’t the only two GOP Senators who were made to look foolish today.
As Palmer Report reported earlier, Republican Senator John Kennedy came off so poorly in his questioning of Sally Yates and retired DNI James Clapper that the chamber ended up erupting in laughter at Kennedy’s expense (link). The hearings are still going on. We’ll provide an update if and when we learn where Cruz and Cornyn went and why. Help fund Palmer Report
