A congressional hearing featuring FBI agent Peter Strzok descended into chaos Thursday moments after House Oversight Committee Chairman Trey Gowdy, R-S.C., asked the first question of the day.
Gowdy asked Strzok, who sent text messages to former FBI lawyer Lisa Page disparaging then-candidate Donald Trump, how many interviews he conducted between July 31, 2016, and Aug. 8, 2016, relating to the investigation into Russia interference in the 2016 election and alleged collusion between the Trump campaign and Moscow.
Strzok said he was unable to answer, based on instruction from FBI lawyers, because the Russia investigation was ongoing. Gowdy fired back that he wasn’t asking for names, he only wanted to know how many people. Strzok maintained that he wouldn’t be able to answer.
The hearing then got sidetracked as Republicans and Democrats held a fiery debate over whether Strzok could be forced to answer the question.
Watch the interaction below:
WATCH: Congress descends into chaos after Trey Gowdy asks first question pic.twitter.com/J6gczglrEz
— Washington Examiner (@dcexaminer) July 12, 2018
