James Comey wasn’t the only one confused.

During the former FBI director’s appearance before the Senate intelligence committee Thursday, Sen. John McCain engaged in a line of questioning that baffled observers, both inside and outside the hearing room.

McCain, who has been among the few elected Republicans pushing to advance the investigations into possible ties between President Donald Trump’s associates and Russian efforts to influence on the 2016 election, seemingly conflated the FBI’s involvement on the issue with the agency’s concluded investigation into Hillary Clinton’s email practices as secretary of state.

“I’m a little confused, senator,” Comey replied. “We conducted a criminal investigation in connection to her use of a personal email server, and that’s the investigation I announced the conclusion of on July 5.”


McCain asked how the FBI could be done with that investigation, but not finished with the Russia investigation — to which Comey tried to remind him that they were independent and unconnected investigations.

McCain appeared to misunderstand the distinction and instead incorrectly interpreted that the FBI had been conducting an investigation into possible connections between Russia and both the Trump and Clinton campaigns. He said it was “hard to reconcile” how the FBI concluded the Clinton investigation, while the Trump investigation remained ongoing.

“In her case, you say ‘There will be no charges,’ and in the case of President Trump, the investigation continues,” he said. “What has been brought out in this hearing is more and more emphasis on the Russian engagement and involvement in this campaign. How serious do you think this was?”

“Very serious,” Comey replied. “But I want to say something to be clear: We have not announced — and there was no predication to announce — an investigation into whether the Russians may have coordinated with Secretary Clinton’s campaign.”

McCain’s colleagues appeared confounded by the Arizona senator’s questions.

Other senators' faces as McCain talks. pic.twitter.com/2x1nmRzbkQ — Emma Loop (@LoopEmma) June 8, 2017

Political reporters were also somewhat confused by the line of questioning.

“What on Earth Was John McCain Asking James Comey?” read a headline in the magazine Foreign Policy. “Does John McCain even know what’s going on?” asked the conservative-friendly New York Post. “John McCain Is…Very Strange Today,” commented the liberal-leaning outlet Mother Jones.

McCain has been v passionate on this issue, one of few Rs calling for a select committee on Russian interference. This line of ?ing is…odd — Rebecca Berg (@rebeccagberg) June 8, 2017


does McCain genuinely not understand the Clinton email server investigation and the Russian interference investigation are different things? — Wesley Lowery (@WesleyLowery) June 8, 2017

Everyone seems a little confused by McCain’s line of questioning right now. — Emma Loop (@LoopEmma) June 8, 2017

Hours after the hearing concluded Thursday afternoon, McCain’s office released a statement attempting to clarify his remarks.

“I get the sense from Twitter that my line of questioning today went over people’s heads. Maybe going forward I shouldn’t stay up late watching the Diamondbacks night games. “What I was trying to get at was whether Mr. Comey believes that any of his interactions with the President rise to the level of obstruction of justice. In the case of Secretary Clinton’s emails, Mr. Comey was willing to step beyond his role as an investigator and state his belief about what ‘no reasonable prosecutor’ would conclude about the evidence. I wanted Mr. Comey to apply the same approach to the key question surrounding his interactions with President Trump—whether or not the President’s conduct constitutes obstruction of justice. While I missed an opportunity in today’s hearing, I still believe this question is important, and I intend to submit it in writing to Mr. Comey for the record.”

According to the statement, McCain was trying to ask if Comey would take steps outside standard protocol — as he did during the Clinton email investigation — to assess the question of whether Trump obstructed justice during their conversations.

“Maybe going forward I shouldn’t stay up late watching the Diamondbacks night games,” the statement said.