Trey Gowdy Defends Kicking Darrell Issa out of Benghazi Deposition

Rep. Darrell Issa (R-CA) evidently thought he was important enough to attend yesterday’s closed-door deposition of Hillary Clinton confidant Sidney Blumenthal before the House Select Committee on Benghazi. But just minutes after he entered the session, he was reportedly escorted out of the room by chairman Rep. Trey Gowdy (R-SC).

The two Republicans had a short confrontation outside the deposition, caught on Vine by NBC News producer Frank Thorp, in which Issa can be seen storming off down the hall:

According to The Hill, Gowdy apologized for the interruption when he returned to the proceedings.

When Gowdy appeared on Fox News to discuss Blumenthal’s testimony, anchor Bill Hemmer asked him about the Issa incident: “What was going on there yesterday and is everything okay between the two of you?”

“Oh, absolutely,” Gowdy assured him. “There is a rule, if you are not a member of a committee, you cannot attend a deposition. You can attend a hearing, you can attend other meetings, but you can’t attend a deposition. And it’s my responsibility to enforce the rules even against friends.”

Watch video below, via Fox News:

[Photo via screengrab]

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