“You're a Whack Job!”: John Kennedy Explodes at Democrat Witness During Heated Crypto Hearing
Sen. John Kennedy (R-LA) let loose on former White House ethics lawyer Richard Painter during a Senate Banking Committee hearing meant to examine cryptocurrency legislation this week.
Painter, an outspoken critic of political campaign contributions from the cryptocurrency industry, took aim at lawmakers like Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY), becoming the highlight of Wednesday’s confrontation.
“Mr. Painter, do you think Senator Gillibrand is a crook?” Kennedy asked bluntly at the start of a tense exchange.
“No, and I do not think all politicians are crooks,” Painter replied.
Kennedy pressed him further. “Then why did you call her a crook?”
“I did not call her a crook,” Painter responded.
As tensions flared, Kennedy referenced a tweet where Painter noted that Senator Gillibrand had received over $200,000 in crypto-related campaign donations.
“You tweeted that,” Kennedy said.
“And then you said, ‘The crypto industry is buying Congress and the White House. This won’t end well.’ Why do you think the crypto industry is buying Senator Gillibrand?”
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The hearing, which primarily focused on the proposed CLARITY Act — a bill designed to define regulatory jurisdiction over digital assets between the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) — rapidly descended into personal accusations and name-calling.
The CLARITY Act originated in the House and is scheduled for a vote next week, where it is expected to pass.
The Senate is now playing catch-up after passing the GENIUS Act last month, which set a framework for stablecoin regulation.
Painter defended his comments, highlighting the influx of crypto money into politics.
“I said, look at the campaign contributions from this industry,” he said.
“There is a massive amount of campaign contributions coming into this Congress from the crypto industry.”
Kennedy fired back, “You think they’ve bought her?”
However, Painter refused to back down.
“Senator, you need to focus on this bill instead of trying to distort my Twitter.”
The argument appeared to spiral as Kennedy accused Painter of calling Gillibrand a crook and demanded an apology.
“Do you want to apologize to Senator Gillibrand?” Kennedy asked.
Painter snapped back.
“I do not, I want you to have to apologize for passing legislation that destroys our economy. You are distorting what I said, just like you did in the last hearing. You’re wasting everybody’s time, Senator.”
“You’re a whack job,” Kennedy then added.
“You are a next-level whack job!”
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