There is no excuse for U.S. Sen. Mazie Hirono’s disrespectful treatment of Attorney General William Barr during the Senate hearing on the Mueller report. While her men-should-shut-up comment last September might be excused as an emotional outburst, the condescending lecture she read to Barr was a show of calculated malice.

No person should speak to another in that way, let alone a U.S. senator to an attorney general on a world stage.

From her bench on high, she accused Barr of lying and a cover-up, and demanded that he resign. She bombarded him with cryptic questions and rudely interrupted his answers before he could get out three words.

Her rant, filled with inaccuracies, was so vile that she was reprimanded by the committee chairman for “slander(ing) this man.”

Aside from the embarrassment to us, Hirono’s deep-seeded bitterness renders her incapable of serving the best interests of the state. She should be forced to resign before bringing any more shame to Hawaii. We can elect another senator in 2020.

Richard Norse

Kilauea, Kauai

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