U.S. Representative Louie Gohmert (R-TX) is a national embarrassment.

A visibly infuriated Rep. Louie Gohmert (R-Texas) tore into Attorney General Eric Holder after his time expired in a House Judiciary Committee hearing Wednesday. The exchange, about the FBI’s investigation into deceased Boston Marathon bombing suspect Tamerlan Tsarnaev, marked a low point in congressional civility.

Gohmert alleged that the FBI failed to question Tsarnaev in a “thorough enough” manner despite a tip from Russia that he had been “radicalized,” even as the federal government was “going after” Christian groups like that of Billy Graham.

“You’ve made statements as matters of fact–,” Holder began in response.

“You point out one thing that I said that was not true,” shot back Gohmert.

[Procedural assertions, ya-ta ya-ta ya-ta]

Gohmert asked again for a point of personal privilege and said that Holder was “wrong on the things that I asserted as fact.” The other members of the committee disputed that his contention was a point of personal privilege.

“The attorney general will not cast aspersions on my asparagus,” said Gohmert, in a malapropism for the ages.

(Emphasis added) I didn’t actually hear the word “asparagus,” but that’s not really the point.

Gohmert, whom George Lopez called “fucking crazy” just yesterday, represents the district in east Texas from which 1/2 of my family originates. That is my shame (because of Gohmert, not my family).

For my part, it does not sound as though Holder was calling Gohmert a liar, but that seems to be Gohmert’s takeaway here. Saying that a person said something that is not true is not the same thing as calling them a liar. He might have just been saying Gohmert was misinformed, or at worst, ignorant. I’m okay with that.