Politics

Lindsey Graham Condemns Impeachment Inquiry: ‘If We Were Doing This, You Would Be Beating The S**t Out Of Us’

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Mary Margaret Olohan Social Issues Reporter
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Republican South Carolina Sen. Lindsey Graham introduced a resolution condemning the impeachment inquiry against President Donald Trump on Thursday.

Graham criticized how the impeachment inquiry has been handled, noting the closed-door nature of the inquiry.

“If we [Republicans] were doing this, you would be beating the shit out of all of us,” he said. (RELATED: Democrats Compared Clinton’s Impeachment To Lynching, Now Say Trump’s Racist For Doing The Same)

The purpose of the resolution is to let the House know that the process you’re engaging in regarding the attempted impeachment of President Trump is out-of-bounds, inconsistent with due process as we know it,” Graham said. “It’s a substantial deviation from what the House has done in the past regarding impeachment of other presidents.”

He added that Trump should be given the rights other presidents were given, and that the nature of the impeachment inquiry is “un-American” at its core.

Instead of the judiciary looking at a potentially impeachable offense, they’ve created a process in the intel community that’s behind closed doors, doesn’t provide access to the president’s accuser,” Graham said, adding that this “shuts Republicans out for all practical purposes, and is not where they substitute for the way you need to do it.”

The South Carolina senator noted that former President Bill Clinton’s impeachment inquiry in 1998 was conducted in a much more open manner on the floor of the House.

I was there,” he said. “Thirty-one Democrats voted to open up impeachment inquiry.”

Graham said Democrats would be outraged if Republicans had acted the way Democrats have behaved throughout the inquiry.

If you believe you have a case against the president, vote to open up an inquiry, allow Republicans to have a say, make sure the president is allowed to participate in a meaningful manner like we did in the past,” Graham said. There is a way to do it, a right way and a wrong way. You’ve chosen the wrong way.”

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