National

Senator McCain laughs off iPhone poker 'scandal'

Washington, DC — Senator John McCain was caught by the crafty eye, and lens, of a Washington Post photographer during Tuesday's Senate Foreign Relations Committee hearing on President Obama's plan to attack that nation for their use of chemical weapons.

McCain and Senator Lindsey Graham were both called to the White House Monday to listen to Obama's message about the need for attacking Syria.

Shortly afterward, McCain came clean in a sarcastic tweet posted on his Twitter account that began with the word, "Scandal!"

McCain wrote that he'd been caught playing on his phone during a hearing that, he quickly pointed out, exceeded three hours.

The senator added, "Worst of all, I lost!"

After Monday's meeting, McCain said: "Now we are talking about ways of approaching this issue in a way that could be effective. We've got to see more, but at least they are talking about some options that I think could work. "

While McCain was playing video poker, other committee members were listening to the testimony of Secretary of State John Kerry, Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel, and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff General Martin Dempsey.

—The Associated Press contributed to this report