Chairman to justices: 'Have either of y'all ever considered tweeting or twitting?'

A House Judiciary subcommittee hearing this week produced a "made for YouTube" moment.

The panel was holding a hearing about administrative support for the federal judicial system. Supreme Court Justices Antonin Scalia and Stephen Breyer appeared as witnesses. 

Subcommittee Chairman Steve Cohen (D-Tenn.) asked the duo: "Have either of y'all ever considered tweeting or twitting?"

"I don't even know what it is," Scalia said, drawing a chuckle from lawmakers. "To tell you the truth, I have heard it talked about. But, you know, my wife calls me Mr. Clueless — I don't know about tweeting."

Breyer seemed more knowledgeable about the service, used by hundreds of lawmakers and once by President Barack Obama. He said he first noticed it during opposition protests in Iran over the election there last summer.

"My son said, 'Go look at this.' And oh, my goodness. I mean, there were some Twitters, I called them, there were people there with photographs as it went on. And I sat there for two hours absolutely hypnotized. And I thought, 'My goodness, this is now, for better or for worse, I think maybe for many respects for better, in that instance certainly, it's not the same world. It's instant and people react instantly.

"It's not something that's going to go away," Breyer added.

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Cross-posted from the Twitter Room