Republican Rep. Darrell Issa denies he flipped off reporter over Trump question
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Reporting from Washington — Capitol Hill reporters commonly snag members of Congress for quotes as they walk into the House or Senate chamber.
But after months of being asked to respond to news coming out of the White House, many Republican lawmakers are losing their patience.
The New York Times reported Tuesday that President Trump asked then-FBI Director James B. Comey in mid-February to end the bureau’s investigation into ousted national security advisor Michael Flynn.
It published the story shortly before the House voted, the first time many lawmakers were approachable after a weeklong recess. Many Republicans ducked or evaded reporters to avoid answering questions. Several had pressing phone calls to keep them from having to acknowledge the crush of correspondents waiting in the hallways.
Longtime Capitol Hill reporter Rachael Bade of Politico was among the throngs and reported this exchange.
Issa quickly took to Twitter to dispute her version of what happened.
Issa, who narrowly won reelection in November over Democrat Doug Applegate and whose district picked Hillary Clinton for president, is considered one of the more vulnerable incumbents in Congress. His announced opponents immediately began trying to raise money off the situation.
“It just didn’t happen. There must have been some sort of misunderstanding, but I mean, Darrell isn’t new. This isn’t something he’d do,” his spokesman Calvin Moore told The Times.
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