Colbert asked to leave Judiciary hearing

By Donovan Slack, Globe Staff

At least one lawmaker was not amused.

Comedian Stephen Colbert had barely seated himself at a House Judiciary subcommittee hearing this morning when US Representative John Conyers, Democrat of Michigan, asked him to leave. Conyers said the committee had not seen so many reporters at a hearing since presidential impeachment proceedings in the late 1990s, and he wanted Colbert to leave so that the committee could carry on with its work.

Colbert, however, did not budge, saying that he was present at the invitation of the hearing chair, US Representative Zoe Lofgren, Democrat of California. But Colbert said if Lofgren wanted him to leave, he would.

Lofgren said she wanted him to stay, and a good portion of Capitol Hill is now glued to broadcasts of the hearing on the Internet, awaiting Colbert’s testimony, which is expected shortly.

The hearing concerns immigration and farm work. Colbert, host of The Colbert Report on Comedy Central, recently spent time working on a farm.

Donovan Slack can be reached at dslack@globe.com.

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