A House Democrat faced backlash online for dismissing the testimony of a reporter who has covered multiple Antifa riots, including the riots surrounding the Kyle Rittenhouse murder acquittal.
Rep. Dan Goldman, D-N.Y., took shots at Townhall senior writer Julio Rosas during Tuesday’s House Homeland Security Committee hearing on left-wing violence in an attempt to discredit him and former Department of Homeland Security chief of staff Scott Erickson as witnesses.
Goldman attacked committee witnesses, accusing Erickson of trying to "gaslight" Congress about left-wing violence in America "as if Antifa, which Mr. Rosas, apparently the expert now in organized terrorist activity, has overruled the FBI director who says… there’s a headline that says ‘Antifa is an ideology, not an organization.’"
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"No, no, no, let’s not listen to the FBI director," Goldman continued condescendingly. "Let’s listen to — sorry, what’s your title? — senior writer at Townhall, who is going to tell us that the FBI director is wrong."
After his tirade, one of the witnesses asked if they could respond, to which Goldman shook his head and answered, "There’s no question."
When pressed on it, Goldman said, "No you cannot, I didn’t ask a question."
Rosas blasted Goldman later in the hearing, quipping it is "funny to be lectured by an heir to the Levi Strauss Corporation."
"And, honestly, that's probably why he doesn't consider property damage to be that big of a deal because, not only does he have that, but he also has what some people would describe [as] an impossibly good stock portfolio," Rosas said.
Goldman’s office did not respond to Fox News Digitals’ request for comment.
Rosas also posted a tweet addressing Goldman's attack, writing, "As you can see in the beginning, [Goldman] was too much of a coward to be in the hearing room for my response to his baseless attack."
"And yes, I know more about Antifa than the discredited FBI director," Rosas said.
Rosas has reported on several riots in America involving the far-left militant group Antifa, including the Rittenhouse trial that saw an acquittal.
The Townhall writer also wrote an entire book on the 2020 George Floyd riots titled "Fiery but Mostly Peaceful: The 2020 Riots and the Gaslighting of America."
Users online dogpiled Goldman after his attack on Rosas, with State Freedom Caucus Network communications director Greg Price writing, "Look at the disrespect Rep. Daniel Goldman (D-NY) shows to [Rosas] as a witness, somebody who was on the ground at violent protests from Charlottesville to Kenosha, and wouldn't even let him respond."
"What an absolute punk," Price said, sharing a video of the attack.
Fellow conservative journalist Matthew Foldi of the Spectator wrote, "Dan Goldman is literally attacking a Latinx journalist."
"This is a racist attack against the First Amendment," Foldi quipped.
"The level of liberal arrogance here is just nauseating," MRC NewsBusters managing editor Curtis Houck wrote. "Goldman, one of the richest members of Congress who made a name for himself on MSNBC (the network where Minneapolis was not ‘generally speaking unruly’), thinks he can lecture [Rosas]."
"He messed with the wrong guy," Houck wrote.
Other users online blasted Goldman for the attack, with Townhall video journalist Kevin McMahon quipping if "there was ever a time to blindly trust the FBI Director as a credible source, it’s certainly not right now."
Goldman appears to have an aversion to allowing committee testifiers to respond to his assertions.
Last month, Goldman was shouted down by the mother of a New York City murder victim during a House Judiciary Committee field hearing, who warned the lawmaker not to "insult" her "intelligence."
The mother, Madeline Brame, was one of many witnesses to testify before the committee during Monday's hearing highlighting the crime problem in Manhattan. Goldman attempted to use the time granted to him to question Brame to instead criticize the hearing itself, arguing it was a "coverup" for Republicans attempting to defend former President Donald Trump.
Goldman, who served as impeachment counsel during Trump's first impeachment, sought to explain his view of the situation to Brame after other Democrats had stated that Republicans were using the witnesses as "props" to defend Trump.
"We're not insulting you. Your experiences are devastating, but the problem is, is that this is a charade to cover up for an abuse of power. [Republicans] are going around incessantly, outside of this hearing, about Donald Trump, and the purpose of this hearing is to cover up for what they know to be an inappropriate investigation [into District Attorney Alvin Bragg]," Goldman said.
"Can I respond to you, please?" Brame asked as Goldman attempted to move on.
"Not right now, because I only have 20 seconds, I'm sorry. But I, I do–" Goldman said.
"Don't insult my intelligence," Brame interjected as Chairman Rep. Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, attempted to maintain order. "You're trying to insult me like I'm not aware of what's going on here. I'm fully aware of what's going on here, OK? That's why I walked away from the plantation of the Democratic Party."
Brame had testified earlier about Bragg's mishandling of her son's murder case. Her son, Army Sgt. Hason Correa, was beaten and stabbed nine times by multiple people in 2018. The prosecution for the cases dragged on for more than four years, and Bragg ultimately removed the indictments against two of the suspects in favor of lesser charges. Two others ended up receiving life sentences.
Brame argued that Bragg's office has only served to escalate the city's crime problem, showing no "measurable results" in lowering the city's violent crime rate.
Fox News Digital's Anders Hagstrom contributed reporting.
