Republican South Carolina Sen. Lindsey Graham said Friday that he hoped President Donald Trump’s impeachment would “blow up” in Democrats’ faces.
Just hours after the Senate voted against calling for new witnesses and documents in Trump’s impeachment trial, Graham spoke with Fox News host Sean Hannity about what would come next. (RELATED: ‘That Is Such Baloney!’: Lindsey Graham Rips Into Chuck Schumer Over What’s ‘Fair’ In Impeachment Trial)
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Graham began by saying that he would have preferred a vote to acquit immediately following the vote to deny additional witnesses but conceded that it may just not have been possible. “You know, Mitch McConnell did a fabulous job. You have 100 people in the Senate and you have to deal with them all. That is the best he can do,” he said.
“They have a lot of ability to drag this thing out really forever,” Graham continued, adding that the vote had been set for Wednesday. “I wish it would be sooner. But you have Alan Dershowitz, Ted Cruz was awesome, Trey Gowdy is so smart. I went to the school of hard knocks, and you know what I believe about all of this? It was a bunch of partisan bulls**t in the House that continued in the Senate, and the president will get acquitted. It will blow up in their face and I think that’s what this is all about.”
Hannity continued the attack on Democrats, asking, “Can you name a single thing the Democrats have done in the last three years to make us more safe, secure and create jobs and prosperity? I can’t think of anything.”
Graham gave Democrats a little more credit, pointing out the fact that they had worked with the president on the USMCA and prison reform. “But you have to realize that President Trump has done a lot of bipartisan things despite people hating his guts. But the reason this is B.S., Sean, it took 78 days in the House impeaching the President of the United States. During that time Schiff led the investigation and the president could not call one witness on his behalf, could not cross-examine anybody. He was shut out. Most of it was hearsay. So it defies basic fairness.”
Graham went on to say that Democrats had gone on to complain that the Senate was unfair if they didn’t call witnesses that the House hadn’t called. “You know why they didn’t call Mulvaney and Bolton and others in the House, Sean?” Graham asked. “You know why they didn’t? Because it would get in the way of them impeaching the president before the election. Their goal is not to remove him from office, but put a black mark on his record. And I hope it blows up in their face.”