John McCain stole the show in the wrong way Thursday during the highly anticipated Senate Intelligence Committee hearing with former FBI director James Comey.
The Arizona senator quizzed Comey with a head-scratching line of questions, which quickly set the Internet ablaze. On a day when the spotlight shined on Comey — and indirectly, President Donald Trump — McCain came away with his share of headlines, too.
Sports fans, however, likely will be sympathetic to the 80-year-old’s excuse for his lackluster performance. McCain issued a statement shortly after the hearing ended, blaming his issues on a decision to stay up late and watch the Arizona Diamondbacks on Wednesday night. He then tried to clear up things a little bit.
“I get the sense from Twitter that my line of questioning today went over people’s heads,” McCain said. “Maybe going forward I shouldn’t stay up late watching the Diamondbacks night games.
“What I was trying to get at was whether Mr. Comey believes that any of his interactions with the President rise to the level of obstruction of justice. In the case of Secretary Clinton’s emails, Mr. Comey was willing to step beyond his role as an investigator and state his belief about what ‘no reasonable prosecutor’ would conclude about the evidence. I wanted Mr. Comey to apply the same approach to the key question surrounding his interactions with President Trump — whether or not the President’s conduct constitutes obstruction of justice. While I missed an opportunity in today’s hearing, I still believe this question is important, and I intend to submit it in writing to Mr. Comey for the record.”
Anyone who stayed up late watching Game 3 of the NBA Finals on Wednesday night likely is understandingly nodding their head at the moment.
And for what it’s worth, first pitch of the Diamondbacks’ game Wednesday night didn’t come until 9:40 p.m. ET, and the game lasted 3 hours and 48 minutes.
The D’backs understood, too.
Thumbnail photo via Jack Gruber/USA TODAY NETWORK Images
