WASHINGTON — Former Attorney General Loretta Lynch testified Wednesday before congressional committees in what turned out to be real snoozefest — with two Democratic lawmakers saying they saw colleagues napping during her testimony.
President Barack Obama’s top law enforcement official survived six hours of closed-door questioning at the House Judiciary and Oversight committees about her handling of the Hillary Clinton email probe, infamous tarmac meeting with President Clinton and launch of the investigation of alleged ties between Russia and the Trump campaign.
GOP committee leaders subpoenaed Lynch and former FBI Director James Comey to appear in the final days of their control of the House. Both Democrats and Republicans said Lynch was cooperative but offered no bombshell revelations.
“I don’t think we learned a whole lot new today,” Rep. Jim Jordan (R-Ohio) admitted at the end of the hearing. He wanted answers about the origins of the Russia probe.
“She was answering (our questions) but I didn’t feel like she knew a whole lot.”
Inside, there were few fireworks.
“I saw two members asleep — one Democrat and one Republican,” said Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-Md.).
“I will not identify them by name, but I feel as if my GOP colleagues are going through the motions on this. They are riding out a paranoid deep-state conspiracy theory which the country has overwhelmingly rejected.”
It was a pared-down hearing, with just a few members from either side of the aisle attending and asking questions.
Rep. Val Demings (D-Fla.) confirmed the zonked out lawmakers, but put it this way: “I would say they are meditating.”
Democratic leaders have panned the inquiry as a waste of time and promised to shut it down when they take over the House next month.
“I think this is the last gasp of the wild goose chase known as the investigation into Hillary Clinton’s investigation,” said Rep. Raja Krishnamoorthi (D-Ill.). “I think we are probably nearing the end.”
Comey testified for two days before the committees and slammed Republicans on Monday for not standing up to President Trump’s attacks on the justice system.
Republican committee members have charged that Justice leaders gave Clinton preferential treatment during the investigation of her private email server and were biased against Trump, sparking the probe into his campaign’s ties to Russia.
Rep. Darrell Issa (R-Calif.) said the hearing was needed to clarify Lynch’s role “in setting up the effort to essentially torpedo the Trump Administration.”
The Lynch interview will likely be the final chapter in the GOP investigation, as Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein isn’t scheduled to testify despite demands from the outgoing leadership.
“It doesn’t seem like it’s going to happen,” Jordan said.