Three members of congress are sitting in a courtroom together and one of them seems to be speaking into his microphone. Down below them is a desk and seat. In the seat is just an empty suit and shoes with no person inside.
The members of congress are speaking to an empty suit rather than a man.
Why are they speaking to a pile of clothing? What happened to the man in the suit?
Are you now, or have you ever been?
scene: a courtroom description: Three members of congress are sitting in a courtroom together and one of them seems to be speaking into his microphone. Down below them is a desk and seat. In the seat is just an empty suit and shoes with no person inside. uncanny: The members of congress are speaking to an empty suit rather than a man. entities: Hearing_(law), Invisibility, Accountability. caption: Are you now, or have you ever been?
A meta joke about interrogating someone who doesn't exist. Usually, "Are you now, or have you ever been ..." is followed by a concrete detail, e.g., "involved with the victim?" or "financially tied to the company?" But here, the person being interrogated doesn't exist, and so the question is complete, and turns into a philosophical question about the nature of existence, instead of a benign factual question.