Kyle CheneyVerified account

Inauspicious start: The first witness says "Noon-yez"

Most Intel Committee members are in the room. Missing are Republicans Stefanik and Hurd, and Democrats Swalwell and Carson.

Dem witness Robert Anderson says STRZOK was his chief of staff for a while and he never saw the side of him that emerged in texts. "Those text messages and emails are unbelievably inappropriate," he said. "I believe the corrective action that was taken was just."

QUIGLEY: However else you feel about the report, should someone [on the Trump campaign] have called the FBI? MCCARTHY (GOP Witness): Yes.

MCCARTHY also undercut the GOP argument that the Obama administration did nothing to stop Russian interference. "I think that they did take some investigative steps. It’s debatable whether they should have taken more."

McCarthy emphasized that the Obama admin was concerned about appearing to put its thumb on the scale of an election by making dramatic moves against Russia. "You can certainly argue about the value judgment," he said.

ODD: Both Democratic witnesses -- former national security officials Robert Anderson and Stephanie Douglas -- say they've never read the Steele Dossier.

GOP Rep. Rick CRAWFORD floats a conspiracy theory: That Obama-era intel officials let Russia interfere because they thought it would help Clinton. Then he told the witnesses not to respond to this notion and yielded the rest of his time.