Watching Comey: For some it's a party

WASHINGTON (AP) — Politics-obsessed Americans gathered at bars and restaurants Thursday with an excitement normally reserved for the Super Bowl or the World Series, ordering FBI sandwiches and morning shots of Russian vodka as James Comey testified about his dealings with President Donald Trump.

Shaw's Tavern in Washington opened early and attracted a line of waiting customers seeking to watch the former FBI director's congressional appearance.

A special menu was offered for occasion, with the sandwich, the vodka and Covfefe coffee — a coffee with whipped cream and cinnamon.

A look at some other scenes as people paused from their weekday routines to take in perhaps the most anticipated congressional hearing since the 1970s.

Todd Shaffer, 55, a commercial real estate agent in the crowd at Shaw's, predicted that little would get done in the nation's workplaces.

The crowd grew quiet when the hearing began, but patrons reacted to key moments, with some applauding when Comey said Trump's administration spread "lies, plain and simple" and "defamed" him and the FBI.

In the historic district of Roswell, Georgia, restaurants kept their regular hours, and boutiques and art galleries took little notice.

Of the four TVs at the bar, three were tuned to Fox News coverage of the hearing, while the fourth showed French Open tennis.

Plenty of velvet and leather seats at the bar were available, and at one point, there were as many reporters (four) as ordinary people having a drink and watching the hearing.