Rep. Steve Cohen, D-Tenn., said he regrets telling FBI agent Peter Strzok in Thursday’s House Judiciary and House Oversight committee hearing that he deserves a Purple Heart medal for his testimony.

“I said something at the hearings yesterday about Purple Hearts which another network that is named for a four-legged animal has been making a big deal about,” Cohen told CNN, referring to criticism from Fox News.

“I regret using the term ‘Purple Heart,’” he continued. “I used it metaphorically, not literally. I never literally thought the Purple Heart should be given to agent Strzok. But I do believe that he was being attacked because the FBI and the Mueller investigation were under attack.”

The Purple Heart is given to U.S. service members who are wounded or killed in combat.

Cohen opened his questioning of Strzok by telling him, “If I could give you a Purple Heart, I would. You deserve one.”

Rep. Mark Meadows, R-N.C., called the suggestion “an insult” to the service members who earned the recognition.

Rep. Darrell Issa, R-Calif., said he “could not agree more” with Meadows’ response.



Could not agree more. https://t.co/RYO1hfaxRF — Darrell Issa (@DarrellIssa) July 12, 2018

Strzok was testifying Thursday about the text messages he exchanged with former FBI lawyer Lisa Page, with whom he was having an extramarital affair, that disparaged President Trump, and his role on special counsel Robert Mueller’s Russia investigation. Strzok has since been removed from the investigation.