Rep. Ilhan Omar, under fire for several anti-Semitic tweets, railroaded a Jewish former diplomat under President Reagan during a House Foreign Affairs Committee hearing on Wednesday.
Aside from referring to him by the wrong name, Omar grilled Elliot Abrams, asking him whether he thinks the El Mozote massacre in El Salvador “was a fabulous achievement that happened under [the United States’] watch.”
Abrams had recently been appointed United States special envoy for Venezuela.
He was there to testify “about the U.S. response to the crisis in Venezuela, which has collapsed under far-left policies that have decimated its economy and caused hyperinflation, starvation and medical shortages,” according to the Washington Free Beacon.
Omar instead turned it into a grilling over past foreign interventions in Latin America.
When asked about whether the massacre was a “fabulous achievement,” Abrams clearly responded, “No.”
Omar, not satisfied with the response, nodded her head and said, “I’ll take that as a ‘yes.'”
OMAR: “Do you think [the El Mozote] massacre [in El Salvador] was a fabulous achievement that happened under our watch?”
ABRAMS: “That is a ridiculous question.
OMAR: “Yes or no?”
ABRAMS: “No!”
OMAR: “I will take that as a yes.”https://t.co/Wkwc5wtLn5 pic.twitter.com/QfoaAMTWvY
— David Rutz (@DavidRutz) February 13, 2019
First off, it’s clear that Omar is simply reading notes that her staff or she Googled on Abrams the night before. Second, what level of juvenile do you have to be to hear a witness answer ‘no’ to a question only to say ‘I’ll take that as a yes’?
She Was on the Attack
Abrams viewed the entire exchange as an “attack.”
Omar began by noting Abrams role in the Iran-Contra affair, something which he was never indicted for but received a plea agreement. He pleaded guilty to two misdemeanor counts of withholding information from Congress. He would later be pardoned by George H.W. Bush.
Based on that, Omar stated, “I fail to understand why members of this committee or the American people should find any testimony that you give today to be truthful.”
Her mindset had already been revealed.
The delight she takes in trying to humiliate Abrams, who is a well know Israel supporter and Jew, and her rage and contempt, the evil smirk — this woman is a bigot. Stop calling on her to apologize, she knows exactly what she’s doing. https://t.co/brHYQos1jp
— Noah Pollak (@NoahPollak) February 13, 2019
Abrams tried to defend himself, but Omar interrupted saying she hadn’t asked a question.
“It was an attack,” Abrams insisted. “It is not right members of this committee can attack a witness who is not permitted to reply.”
She Has a Jewish Problem
Earlier this week, President Trump slammed Omar’s apology for publishing anti-Semitic tweets, saying it was “lame” and called on her to resign from Congress.
The congresswoman used a stereotype about Jews being motivated by money, then accused AIPAC of paying members of Congress to support Israel.
Even House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Chelsea Clinton blasted her for the blatant anti-Semitism.
What does she do with the first Jewish diplomat to cross her path in Congress? Smears him, unarmed with facts and an obvious disdain.
“Omar shouldn’t be in Congress in the first place with her views,” writes The Political Insider’s Wayne Dupree. “Her anti-Semitic views should result in her being removed from the Foreign Affairs Committee. But, Pelosi wants her there where she can do damage with her bigoted and prejudicial stance.”
Did she do damage to Abrams in this case, or her own chamber of Congress?
