Word for Word: Exchange between Rep. Ilhan Omar and Elliott Abrams (C-SPAN)

miss Alma Thank You chairman thank you all for being here and thank you for your testimonies mr. Adams's in 1991 you pleaded guilty to two counts of withholding information from Congress regarding your involvement in the iran-contra affair for which you were later pardoned by President George HW Bush I fail to understand why members of this committee or the American people should find any testimony that you give today to be truthful if I can respond to that I am it wasn't a question that was not that was not a question that was my I reserve the right to my time it is not it is not right that was not a question you can attack February who is not permitted to report that that was not a question thank you for your participation on February 8th 1982 you testified before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee about US policy in El Salvador in that hearing you dismissed as communist propaganda report about the massacre of el mozote a in which more than 800 civilians including children as young as two years old were brutally murdered by US train troops doing that massacre some of those troops bragged about raping a twelve-year-old girl before they killed them girls before they killed them you later said that the u.s. policy in El Salvador was a fabulous achievement yes or no do you still think so from the day that President Duarte was elected in a free election to this day El Salvador has been a democracy that's a fabulous achievement yes sir no do you think that massacre was a fabulous achievement that happened under our watch that is a ridiculous question about yes or no no I yes I am NOT going to respond to that kind of personal attack which is not a question yes or no would you support an armed faction within Venezuela that engages in war crimes crimes against humanity or genocide if you believe they were serving US interest as you did in Guatemala El Salvador and Nicaragua I am NOT going to respond to that question I'm sorry I don't think this entire line of questioning is meant to be real questions and so I will not reply whether you under your watch a genocide will take place and you will look the other way because American interests were being upheld is a fair question because the American people want to know that any time we engage a country that we think about what our actions could be and how we believe our values are being farther that is my question will you make sure that human rights are not violated and that we uphold international and human rights I suppose there is a question in there and the answer is that the entire thrust of American policy in Venezuela is to support the Venezuelan people's effort to restore democracy to their country that's our policy I don't think anybody disputes that the question I had for you is that the interest does the interests of the United States include protecting human rights and include protecting people against genocide that is always the position of the United States thank you I yield back my time

Channel: C-SPAN

Views: 2,149,835

Rating: 4.1299582 out of 5

Keywords:

Id: InGCmxCjaWE

Length: 4min 30sec (270 seconds)

Published: Wed Feb 13 2019

Reddit Comments

[u/NonnyO]

Congresswoman Ilhan Omar's campaign web site with email address and snail mail address and electronic means to send a contribution.

[u/GrumpySquirrel2016]

I wish someone would have gone after Henry Kissinger that way. They're war criminals of the same stripe.

[u/EleanorRecord]

Excellent job of questioning the US war criminal Abrams. I had to laugh at his entitled outrage over Rep. Omar discussing his criminal past. Bush may have pardoned him of his egregious crimes, but Bush did give Michele Obama a piece of candy.

It's refreshing to hear a Democrat actually doing a good job in a House Committee instead of cutting a deal with a Republican in the cloakroom. The new freshmen in Congress are reminding the public of what some Democrats used to do back in the old days. I don't think I've heard a Dem MOC grill someone on a substantive issue in committee since the early 90's. Grateful that the younger generation isn't brainwashed by years of neoliberal Dem propaganda.