John “No Principles, None At All” McCain was involved in a belligerent, bullying exchange with two reporters about the Don’t-Ask-Don’t-Tell policy. His tantrum was tempered by bald-faced dishonesty.

McCain wasn’t just completely wrong, as usual, about the facts. He also appeared to be lying. That is to say, unless he’s gone senile and lost most of his marbles, he had to have known that he was making statements that were not, in fact, true.

Here’s McCain on Tuesday afternoon, vehemently insisting to two reporters — Kerry Eleveld of The Advocate and Chris Geidner of Metro Weekly that the military doesn’t actively go after gay soldiers who Don’t Tell:

MCCAIN: We do not go out and seek. Regulations are, we do not go out and seek to find out if someone’s sexual orientation. We do not!

ELEVELD: But senator, that’s not…

MCCAIN: That is the fact! That is the fact. Now ma’am, I know the military very well, and I know what’s being done. And what is being done is that they are not seeking out people who are gay. And I don’t care what you say, I know it’s a fact.

ELEVELD: It’s not what I say.

MCCAIN: I dont’ care what you say! And I don’t care what others say. I’ve seen it in action. I’ve seen it in action. I have sons in the military, I know the military very well. So they’re not telling you the truth.

ELEVELD: Senator, just to make sure…

MCCAIN: Just to make sure. We do not go out and seek out and find out….

ELEVELD: Private emails are not being searched? Private emails are not being searched?

MCCAIN: …See if someone is gay or not. We do not go out and see whether someone is gay or not.

ELEVELD: There are documented cases…

MCCAIN: They do not, they do not, they do not. You can say that they are, you can say [inaudible] it’s not true!… Yea, I’d like to see…

GEIDNER: It is the case of Mike Almy, Senators.

MCCAIN: Bring them to our office. It is not the policy, it is not the policy, it is not the policy.

GEIDNER: But it is the case that it’s happening, Senator.

MCCAIN: It is not the policy, it is not the policy, it is not the policy You can say that it is the policy, sir if you choose to. It is not the policy. I would be glad to get that to you in writing.

Even after Geidner specifically brings up Mike Almy, McCain continues his hysterical, hectoring denial. Which has to be pretty baffling to anyone who still thinks McCain has a shred of honesty or integrity left in him. Because this was Almy’s testimony (pdf) before McCain just earlier this year:

In Iraq, during the height of the insurgency, someone in the Air Force ordered a search of my private emails solely to determine if I had violated “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell”, and to gather whatever evidence could be used against me.

Rachel Maddow had Almy on her show Tuesday night to respond to McCain’s performance:

MADDOW: Let me get your response to what Senator McCain said today.

ALMY: I was literally quite stunned when I first heard it. I just heard it this evening. And I was quite shocked. As you know, I testified before the Senate Armed Services Committee in March and told my story. Senator McCain was there. He sat 20 feet away from me and he listened to every word of my testimony. For him to make that statement today that the military does not search private e-mails, tells me that he either didn‘t listen to my testimony in this past March, he forgot what I said, or he‘s being deliberately deceptive with the American public about the true nature of Don‘t Ask, Don‘t Tell and using partisan politics over the interests of National Security. The simple truth is the Air Force searched my private e-mails in 2005 in Iraq.

During the height of the insurgency, they launched an investigation solely to look into my private e-mails, solely to determine if I had violated Don‘t Ask, Don‘t Tell and to find whatever evidence they could use against me. And those e-mails searched in Iraq were the sole basis of my discharge from the Air Force … So, for Senator McCain to make that allegation, I‘m just dumb founded about where he comes up with that type of explanation, that type of an answer to a reporter. And to be quite honest with you, I‘m very angry at that statement today.

Not half as angry as McCain was, though, at being challenged by Kerry Eleveld and Chris Geidner.