Remember the handshake between then Rep. Jason Chaffetz and Hillary Clinton during Donald Trump’s inauguration? What everyone thought might have been a moment of goodwill between the defeated Democratic nominee and her Congressional tormenter was, in reality, a case of mistaken identity.
TV cameras caught the exchange between Clinton and Chaffetz, and Chaffetz posted a picture of the moment on his Instagram with the caption “So pleased she is not the President. I thanked her for her service and wished her luck. The investigation continues.”
In her forthcoming book, Clinton says she thought Chaffetz was incoming White House Chief of Staff Reince Priebus.
We headed up the stairs to leave the platform and go back inside the Capitol, shaking hands along the way,” Clinton writes in her forthcoming book “What Happened.”
“I saw a man off to the side who I thought was Reince Priebus, head of the Republican National Committee and incoming White House Chief of Staff. As I passed by, we shook hands and exchanged small talk. Later I realized it hadn’t been Priebus at all. It was Jason Chaffetz, the then-Utah Congressman and wannabe Javert who made endless political hay out of my emails and the 2012 tragedy in Benghazi, Libya,” Clinton continued.
The reference to Javert is not accidental. Javert is a police inspector in Les Miserables who became obsessed with the pursuit and punishment of escaped convict Jean Valjean.
Chaffetz, who is now a Fox News contributor after retiring unexpectedly from Congress this year, offered his perspective on the exchange.
“Oh boy, if I was Reince Priebus, I’d be ticked,” he said.
“She had just shaken hands with Reince Priebus down at the bottom of the stage. I don’t know if she thought he had gotten back in line to shake hands again,” he added.
