Speaking to reporters at the Capitol Thursday, Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) warned the President that his week-long public attacks on Attorney General Jeff Sessions is “not going over well in the Senate” nor the “conservative world.”
The senator said there would be “holy hell to pay” if Sessions is fired.
Graham suggested that if the attacks against Sessions are part of an effort to get rid of special counsel Robert Mueller, who is leading the investigation into Russia meddling in the 2016 election, it could be the “end” of Donald Trump’s presidency.
“If Jeff Sessions is fired, there will be holy hell to pay. Any effort to go after Mueller could be the beginning of the end of the Trump presidency, unless Mueller did something wrong. Right now, I have no reason to believe that Mueller is compromised. If you have reason to believe he is compromised and shouldn’t be serving as special counsel, let me know,” he told reporters.
Graham also floated legislation that he’s planning to introduce next week that he think he can get “all Democrats and a good number of Republicans” onboard with that will say a special counsel can’t be fired when they’re asked to investigate the President and his team, unless there’s a “judicial review” of the firing.
“Not just for Trump, but for any future president. We need a check and balance here,” he said, adding he hopes the President will “calm down” on his attacks on Sessions.
Since last Wednesday, Trump has launched near-daily, public attacks on Sessions, from saying he wouldn’t have hired Sessions if he’d known he was going to recuse himself from the Russia investigation, to calling Sessions “beleaguered” and “weak” on Twitter.
“This is not a diversion. This is unnerving. It is unfair to Jeff Sessions. He’s a good man who deserves better,” Graham said. “Some of the suggestions the President is making go way beyond what is acceptable in a rule of law nation. I hope the President will get good counsel and advice and focus on what he got elected to, which is change the culture in Washington. This is not draining the swamp. What he’s interjecting is turning democracy upside down.”
Sen. Graham: I am 100% behind Sessions and if he is fired there will be “holy hell to pay”
https://t.co/tQIRuSPrLf— Meg Wagner (@megwagner) July 27, 2017
You can quit play-acting Graham. We all know you and your clown crew on the Hill will do jack shit about it.
Anytime these gasbags make declarations like this they should outline (or be made to outline) the actions they would take if the hypothetical came to pass. Just saying, “I’m going to do something - believe me!” is no more credible than when Donnie made the same kind of promises on the campaign trail.
Ask about pro forma sessions to block recess appointments. Ask about limits on PotUS’s ability to make nearly any federal employee an acting AG. Ask about Congress passing new independent counsel legislation.
Strong words. Between this and McCain’s speech I’d say the nation’s been given a lot to think about in the last few days.
"Graham also floated legislation that he’s planning to introduce next week that he think he can get “all Democrats and a good number of Republicans” onboard with that will say a special counsel can’t be fired when they’re asked to investigate the President and his team, unless there’s a “judicial review” of the firing. "
“A good number of republicans” maybe – but a majority of them cannot be counted on to fulfill their constitutional duty to check the abuses of a corrupt out of control president. What does this say about about your beloved GOP Lindsey?
I don’t believe that. I think this is the hill Senate Republicans are willing to die on. Remember, they know stuff we don’t, and I’m getting the sense PP is dangerously close to being cut loose.