The highly anticipated testimony of Gen. David Petraeus was put on hold for several minutes this afternoon because of a faulty microphone. After opening statements from the committee Chairman and then the ranking Republican, Gen. Petraeus was given the floor. But his microphone didn’t work. Brian Williams anchoring on MSNBC said “the commander of U.S. forces in Iraq, apparently powerless over the audio system in the hearing room.” After a 14-minute delay, Gen. Petraeus began his testimony at 1:29pmET.

Also, FNC reports two protesters were ejected from the hearing while three others were refused entry.