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John McCain spotted playing poker on his phone during Syria hearings

US Senator John McCain, a longtime advocate for forceful military intervention in Syria, was caught playing poker on his smartphone on Tuesday as top administration officials testified at one of the most pivotal congressional hearings of the year.

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US Senator John McCain. Photo: AP

Perhaps he was thinking about doubling down in the Middle East?

US Senator John McCain, a longtime advocate for forceful military intervention in Syria, was caught playing poker on his smartphone on Tuesday as top administration officials testified at one of the most pivotal congressional hearings of the year.

McCain is hardly the only US lawmaker ever to seek a diversion from what can be hours of legislative debate on Capitol Hill.

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But the photographic evidence of McCain making poker bets on his iPhone during the hearing itself offered a startling counterweight to the seriousness in Washington as senators debated whether to sign on to President Barack Obama's plan to bomb Syria for chemical weapons use.

"Scandal!" McCain tweeted sarcastically after an alert Washington Post photographer posted the photo that rapidly made the rounds on Twitter.

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"Caught playing iPhone game at 3+ hour Senate hearing - worst of all I lost!" he quipped.

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