Out gay Rep. Robert Garcia (D-CA) basically called proud transphobe Rep. Nancy Mace (R-SC) a liar after Mace claimed that former State Department Secretary Hillary Clinton was “screaming” during her closed-door deposition about the Epstein files to the House Oversight Committee yesterday.

“She was screaming. She was unhinged. I hope that President [Bill] Clinton is less unhinged today than his wife was yesterday,” Mace said.

Related

Nancy Mace busted lying about a rare medical condition as staffers say she has “deteriorated”

Speaking to the press about her deposition, Clinton said, “I don’t know how many times I had to say I did not know [deceased child trafficker] Jeffrey Epstein. I never went to his island, I never went to his homes, I never went to his offices.”

Toward the end, “I started being asked about UFOs and a series of questions about Pizzagate, one of the most vile, bogus conspiracy theories that was propagated on the internet, that was serving as the basis of a member’s questions to me,” Clinton said. She didn’t name the congressmember who asked these questions.

Insights for the LGBTQ+ community

Subscribe to our briefing for insights into how politics impacts the LGBTQ+ community and more.
Subscribe to our Newsletter today

The so-called #Pizzagate conspiracy theory claimed that high-power Democrats were sexually abusing kids in the nonexistent basement of Ping Pong Comet, a gay-owned pizzeria in the nation’s capital. The conspiracy theory led to a gunman going to the pizzeria in real life. Pizzagate’s narratives were also a precursor to the QAnon conspiracy movement, which led to the now-common right-wing views that Democrats and cultural “elites” are using LGBTQ+ “indoctrination” to “groom” children for sexual abuse.

When asked by reporters on Friday about Mace’s claim of Clinton “screaming,” Garcia replied, “I hope that the Republicans release the actual unedited immediately, because to say that the secretary was ‘screaming’ I think is beyond mischaracterization.”

“What happened yesterday was a disgrace,” he continued. “To be asking about UFOs, Pizzagate, conspiracy theories, You yourself are going to see the types of questions she was asked, to defend her husband [not herself].”

Neither Clinton has been accused of any wrongdoing in connection with Epstein. Clinton accused the Republican-led committee of seeking her out in an effort to cover for President Donald Trump, who had a past friendship with Epstein.

“Instead, you have compelled me to testify, fully aware that I have no knowledge that would assist your investigation, in order to distract attention from President Trump’s actions and to cover them up despite legitimate calls for answers,” Clinton said in her opening statement, adding, “What is being held back? Who is being protected? And why the cover-up?”

Noting that Bill Clinton will be the first former president ever to testify in a congressional investigation under subpoena, Garcia said he hopes Trump will be next.

“This committee has now set a new precedent about talking to presidents and former presidents,” Garcia said. “And we’re demanding immediately that we ask President Trump to testify in front of our committee and be deposed in front of Oversight Republicans and Democrats, and that should happen immediately.”

Subscribe to the LGBTQ Nation newsletter and be the first to know about the latest headlines shaping LGBTQ+ communities worldwide.