House Republican John Bolton defends a statement that he made regarding how video footage from the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol looked normal for tourists.Rep. Andrew Clyde (Republican from Georgia) said this exact statement during Tuesday's tense hearing at the House Rules Committee.Clyde is a first-term House Member who is a Navy combat vet and gun shop owner. Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-Md.), a constitutional lawyer, repeatedly pressed him on his comments. Raskin is part of the select committee that investigated the Jan. 6 riot at Capitol.Clyde appeared before the Rules Committee to discuss an amendment he was proposing to legislation that is not related to Jan. 6. Raskin had, however, spent the morning at the first hearing of the select committee, listening to four police officers recount the horrendous hand-to-hand fighting they endured with Trump supporters trying to prevent Congress from certifying 2020's election results.U.S. Capitol Police Sergeant. Aquilino Gnell, D.C. Metropolitan Police Department officers Daniel Hodges and Michael Fanone, as well as Harry Dunn, U.S. Capitol Police officer, at Tuesday's hearing of the Jan. 6 select panel on Capitol Hill. (Brendan Smialowski/Pool/Reuters)Raskin questioned Clyde about his comments about tourists and his vote against legislation that would have awarded Congressional Gold Medals for Capitol Police to protect the U.S. Capitol.The 10 minute back-and forth between the lawmakers revealed the anger of many members of Congress toward Republicans who try to downplay, minimize or distract from the gravity and attack on the Capitol that was incited and egged upon by President Donald Trump.Raskin started by asking Clyde whether he had seen the testimony of the police officers. Clyde replied that the question was not relevant to the amendment that he was present to discuss. The two members raised their voices and Jim McGovern (D-Mass.), the Chairman of House Rules Committee, asked them to lower it.Raskin pointed out that Rep. Raskin noted that Rep. Raskin asked Clyde about the tourist comment he made and he replied that it had been brought up during the hearing of the select committee.Continue the storyThey were terrorists, not tourists, said those officers. Raskin asked.Rep. Jamie Raskin asks Rep. Andrew Clyde questions during Tuesday's Rules Committee hearing on Capitol Hill. (House.gov video)Clyde responded that he would like to have you quote my exact statement and not your interpretation.Raskin then read a long portion of Clydes' comments from a May hearing in which he and others argued that Jan. 6's assault on Capitol was not insurrection. This is a violent rebellion against an established government. Many Republicans who object to calling Jan. 6, an insurrection, continue to propagate Trump's lies about the 2020 election being unfairly decided.Clyde stated that it was not an insurrection. We cannot call it that, and still be honest. It was not an insurrection and the House floor was not breached. The truth is this: There was an undisciplined crowd, some rioters, and some who committed acts desecration. Let me be clear. It was not an insurrection. To call it one is a bold-faced lie. It was a... The TV footage showed people walking through Statuary Hall and entering the Capitol in an orderly manner, keeping between the ropes and stanchions. It was fascinating to see the pictures and videos. It's obvious that the TV footage is from January 6th. You would have assumed it was normal tourist visits.Clyde published an opinion piece in a Georgia newspaper two days later, stating that Jan. 6 was a terrible day.Clyde stated in the Gainesville News that since my fourth day in office when these events took place, I have maintained that violence is not acceptable as a form of protest. He also complained that media and the Swamp were taking his comments outof context.Rep. Andrew Clyde responds to Rep. Jamie Raskin's question during Tuesday's Rules Committee hearing on Capitol Hill. (House.gov video)Clyde, however, refused to clarify his remarks to Raskin in an exchange. Clyde reaffirmed his tourist comment when Raskin saw it. Raskin wanted to know if Clyde agreed with police officers who claimed they were fighting terrorists. Clyde replied that his comments didn't apply to people who have committed acts of violence.Clyde stated that this statement didn't state that these people were tourists.Clyde and Raskin went back and forth a few more times, and the hearing became increasingly contentious with multiple people shouting over each other until McGovern restored order.Raskin then asked Clyde why he was not one of 12 Republicans who voted against the awarding of Congressional Gold Medals for the Capitol Police and those who protected U.S. Capitol in January 2021.Clyde stated that the bill was inappropriate because it didn't recognize service by Capitol Police beyond Jan. 6, 1970, 1980, 1990, and not just one incident.Clyde stated that there were Capitol Police officers who died earlier from gunshot wounds. This apparent reference was to the 1998 shooting deaths in which two Capitol Police officers were killed. They were both honored by laying in honor in the Capitol Rotunda.Raskin closed the exchange by encouraging Clyde watch Tuesday's testimony by officers. He said that describing any event that occurred that day in an analogous fashion to tourism is dangerous.____Yahoo News has more information:
