In this case, it is the Ethics Committee hearing on the charges leveled against Congressman Michael Bennit. When the chairman gaveled the meeting to order at ten o’clock this morning, it was already standing room only. In a rare spectacle, every committee member was present and seated in this cavernous room at four long, stepped rows, measuring fifty feet from one side to another. The mahogany work surfaces are curved slightly, creating an arc around the focal point of a single table where the person being questioned is seated. None of these members’ staff is in view, but they are never far away. In Congress, we tend to disappear from public view when cameras are around, and in this particular hearing, there are dozens of them to record every moment of testimony from each witness. Mister Bennit is not present for the parade of individuals being called to testify. I am left with Vince and Vanessa to watch and report how things are unfolding. As it stands right now, the congressman will be the last to testify and the only person to speak in his defense.
