Trump's Venezuela envoy clashes with Ilhan Omar at hearing: 'That is a ridiculous question'
The Trump administration's new special envoy for Venezuela, Elliott Abrams, clashed Wednesday with freshman Rep. Ilhan Omar, D-Minn., during a House hearing on the Caracas crisis after the congresswoman tried to turn focus to Abrams' history in Latin America while asking him point-blank whether he'd support "genocide" if it served American interests.
Abrams fired back, calling the line of questioning "ridiculous" and refusing to respond to the personal "attack."
The questioning was the latest moment in the spotlight for Omar, who earlier this week apologized for tweets considered anti-Semitic -- and who previously criticized what she described as a "US backed coup" in Venezuela, though many countries beyond the U.S. have recognized Juan Guaido, the opposition head of the National Assembly, as the interim president over Nicolás Maduro.
On Wednesday, Omar began her questioning of Abrams with his connection to the Iran-Contra scandal during the Reagan administration, U.S. support of the right-wing government of José Napoleón Duarte during the Salvadoran Civil War and Washington’s broader involvement in Latin America’s civil conflicts during the 1970s and 1980s.
“In 1991, you pleaded guilty to two counts of withholding information to Congress regarding your involvement [in] the Iran-Contra affair for which you were later pardoned by George H.W. Bush,” Omar said. “I fail to understand why members of this committee or the American people should find any testimony that you give today to be truthful.”
https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/politics/trumps-venezuela-envoy-clashes-with-ilhan-omar-at-hearing-that-is-a-ridiculous-question/ar-BBTyfaJ?li=BBnb7Kz
Ouch!
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