Sen. Graham: Pelosi 'taking a wrecking ball' to the Constitution
Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham accuses House Speaker Nancy Pelosi of denying the president his day in court in the Senate on impeachment and reacts to the latest on the FISA report fallout on 'Sunday Morning Futures.'
Speaking exclusively to Maria Bartiromo on Fox News' “Sunday Morning Futures” Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., said House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., is “taking a wrecking ball to the Constitution.”
The South Carolina senator was reacting to Pelosi not yet transmitting the articles of impeachment to the Senate, indicating she wants reassurances that the Senate would hold a fair trial, likely involving certain Democrat-sought witnesses, before sending over the charges.
“This is the latest in a series of constitutional train wrecks orchestrated by Nancy Pelosi,” Graham said on Sunday. “During the impeachment process, the president was not allowed to have counsel present during the Intel Committee, he could not call witnesses on his behalf, he could not confront his accuser and now that he’s been charged with two articles of impeachment, Nancy Pelosi is denying his day in the court in the Senate and she is actually trying to tell [Senate Majority Leader] Mitch McConnell how to run the Senate.”
Without any Republican support, the House on Wednesday night voted to impeach Trump for "abuse of power" and "obstruction of Congress" related to his dealings with Ukraine.
“She’s trampling on the separation of powers,” Graham said. “It’s the Senate’s job to dispose of impeachment articles once passed by the House, it’s not Nancy Pelosi’s job. When it comes to Trump, the rules don’t matter to Democrats and that’s dangerous and sad.”
Trump has called for an immediate trial, where he expects to be acquitted for the alleged crimes surrounding his efforts to pressure Ukraine to launch politically advantageous investigations.
“Democrats hate him so much they don’t love anything constitutional anymore,” Graham told Bartiromo on Sunday. “All the rules have been thrown in a ditch to get Trump. From the way they impeached him to now, denying his day in court.”
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“Here’s how it’s going to end: She’ll [Pelosi will] eventually send the articles because public opinion will crush the Democrats,” he continued.
Graham then brought up Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer’s demand that witnesses be called to testify in the expected Senate impeachment trial of President Trump.
Last month, President Trump defended blocking top officials from testifying as part of the House impeachment inquiry, arguing the decision was made to protect the office of the presidency and “future presidents” — even as he claimed he'd otherwise support the testimony.
When asked if he expects there will be witnesses in the Senate trial, Graham answered, “The court’s available to every American, including Donald Trump. So if you call these witnesses, who worked for the president after he’s invoked executive privilege, if you deny him his day in court, then you’re abusing the constitutional rights of Donald Trump as president and you’re putting the entire presidency at risk.”
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He added, “I hope the senators will not vote to compel witnesses before the court determines whether or not there is executive privilege.”
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