No Trial? Lindsey Graham Says Senate Should Nix Any Impeachment That Comes Out Of Closed Door Hearings
David Krayden Ottawa Bureau Chief
Republican South Carolina Sen. Lindsey Graham said Tuesday that he will introduce a motion calling the impeachment inquiry illegitimate and saying that it should be rejected by the Senate.
“Here’s the point of this resolution. Any impeachment vote based on this process, to me, is illegitimate, is unconstitutional, and should be dismissed in Senate without a trial,” Graham told Fox News’ “Hannity.”
The chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee said the resolution “puts the Senate on record condemning the house for the future of the presidency. We cannot allow future presidents and this president to be impeached based on an inquiry in the House that’s never been voted upon that does not allow the president to confront the witness against him, to call witnesses on his behalf and cross-examine people who are accusing him of misdeeds,” Graham told Sean Hannity.
Graham said House Intelligence Chairman Adam Schiff is conducting the impeachment inquiry behind closed doors in a manner that denies basic legal rights to the president. “All I’m asking is give Donald Trump the same rights as Richard Nixon and Bill Clinton had when it comes to impeachment. I’m insisting that Donald Trump be given the same rights that any American has at when you’re giving a parking ticket to confront the witnesses against you, can’t be based on hearsay … ”
Graham has been a consistent critic of the impeachment inquiry that began when House Speaker Nancy Pelosi authorizedthe House intelligence committee to begin the process. This came after reports from an anonymous whistleblower suggested that the president was pressuring his Ukrainian counterpart to continue an investigation into alleged misconduct by former Vice President Joe Biden and his son, Hunter Biden. (RELATED: Nancy Pelosi Felt A Lot Different About Impeachment When The President Was From Her Party)
Graham says the House Democrats are exhibiting a “double standard” because while they are enthusiastic about impeaching Trump, they are resisting any examination of the Biden family.
The president has put House Republicans on notice that he does not intend to cooperatewith what he calls a “constitutionally illegitimate” impeachment process.