Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-FL) did what Matt Gaetz does best on Wednesday, plunging a House Judiciary Committee hearing into chaos by relentlessly steamrolling Attorney General Merrick Garland with questions curated from right-wing media. After mocking Garland for expressing concern about North Korea while peppering him with allegations about China, bribes, and President Joe Biden, Gaetz posed a conspiratorial question about the Capitol riots. “So did the FBI lose count of the number of paid informants on Jan. 6?” Gaetz wondered, only for Garland to attempt to address the Republican’s prior claims. “I only get five minutes. You’ve already—sort of, I think—screwed the pooch on China. On Jan. 6, did you lose count of the number of federal assets?” Gaetz shot back, leading ranking member Rep. Jerry Nadler (D-NY) to note the far-right congressman’s time had expired. Given a final chance to respond, Garland commented about China, resulting in Gaetz again ridiculing the attorney general for not answering his Jan. 6 question. Erupting in outrage, the committee’s Democrats fumed that the Trump-boosting lawmaker was “badgering the witness.”
