When a white Republican congressman turned questioning at a House Judiciary Committee on policing into a lengthy tit-for-tat with both the chairman and civil rights activist Al Sharpton, the Baptist minister refused to back down. Rep. Matt Gaetz repeatedly cut off Sharpton and House Judiciary Chairman Jerry Nadler with questions about whether Sharpton made anti-Semitic and derogatory statements in the past. “Can I finish my answer?” Sharpton asked when the cut him off repeatedly. “No, it’s actually my time, but you will be able …” the Florida congressman answered at one point. The frequent exchanges prompted Nadler to bang his gavel at several points during the meeting. Each time Sharpton was questioned, he denied making the statements or further explained them, and Gaetz — himself a fierce defender of Donald Trump despite the president’s repeated comments deemed as bigoted or racist — continued questioning. Even a shortened version of the exchange, which Gaetz posted Friday on Twitter lasted close to 14 minutes. The back-and-forth applauded on social media by right-wing commentators and politicians was for many Democrats at the meeting a distraction. The hearing included testimony from activists, including retired tennis star James Blake and Gwen Carr, the mother […]

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