McCain, Chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee shouted at the protestors, “Get out of here….you low-life scum. You know, you’re going to have to shut up or I’m going have you arrested.”
McCain, who is not generally a friend of free speech, said the protestors must be “held fully accountable for their actions. In my 32 years in the House and Senate, I have never witnessed this kind of physical intimidation of a witness at a Congressional hearing.”
“No American citizen testifying before the U.S. Congress should be subjected to such treatment, particularly not a 91-year-old former Secretary of State who has served our nation with great honor and distinction,” continued McCain.
“Code Pink’s typical protest tactics include interrupting Congressional hearings with chanting and sign-holding, which while disruptive and improper, do not represent a threat to witnesses. What happened today was far different. As Dr. Kissinger entered the hearing room to take his seat, a group of Code Pink protesters rushed up to the witness table to confront him, waving handcuffs within inches of his head. Some senators were concerned enough for Dr. Kissinger’s safety that they came down off the dais to support the witnesses. With no U.S. Capitol Police intervening, the episode went on for several minutes.
“I apologize once again to Dr. Kissinger on behalf of the Armed Services Committee and the entire U.S. Senate for this deeply troubling incident. I have spoken to the Chairman of the Senate Rules Committee and the U.S. Capitol Police, and expect that those responsible will be held fully accountable for their actions.”
Code Pink has been supportive of radical groups. In 2004, Code Pink activists to travelled to Fallujah, Iraq to donate $600,000 worth of humanitarian aid to the people who had just killed 51 Americans and wounded 560 more earlier that month. Operation Phantom Fury in Fallujah was the heaviest US urban combat since the Vietnam War.”
According to Brietbart, “Code Pink and Global Exchange co-founder Medea Benjamin bragged at the time that the aid was intended for families of the “other side” in Fallujah.”
In a letter dated 2004, Arizona Congressman Raul Grijalva wrote in support of the Global Exchange trip. He specifically requested assistance from the U.S. Embassy in Jordan for Fernando Suarez del Solar, who would be “travelling to the Iraqi-Jordanian border” to Palestinian/Hamas camps.