Since taking over the House, Democrats have promised to open the investigation floodgates. If Donald Trump or anyone in his administration ever so much as misplaced a paper clip, you can be sure there would be hearings. When the Mueller probe reveals that there is no evidence of Russian collusion, they will start their own investigation, no doubt. Their main objective is to make sure Trump is not reelected, and in the meantime, they will do everything they can to make it impossible for him to govern. To them, that is called transparency and accountability.
But when the tables are turned, and the real crimes and abuses of power by Democrats are suddenly in the crosshairs of Republicans with a thirst for accountability… well, there’s outrage:
New tensions are flaring on the Senate Judiciary Committee over plans by newly minted Chairman Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) to dig into Obama-era scandals.
Graham, a close ally of President Trump’s, has outlined several areas he wants to probe now that he has the Judiciary Committee gavel.
They include the FBI’s handling of its investigation into Hillary Clinton’s private email server and the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) warrant applications targeting former Trump campaign aide Carter Page.
Sen. Dick Durbin (D-Ill.), asked about Graham’s plans, started laughing and compared them to the “thrilling days of yesteryear.”
“This is going to be like the History Channel it turns out. Instead of taking a look at the current issues, Lindsey Graham wants to go back and answer important questions about the Bermuda Triangle and Hillary Clinton,” Durbin told The Hill.
Durbin said he was “concerned” about Graham’s plans but quipped that “you know there is that question about Jimmy Carter which he probably wants to ask.”
Democrats may dismiss Graham’s plans as pointless, but deep down don’t believe for a second they’re laughing. We all remember Graham’s epic smackdown of the Democrats’ actions during the Brett Kavanaugh hearings. I’m sure Graham is legitimately miffed that Obama and Hillary have managed to avoid accountability for their illegal actions, so there are really only two possible motives here. The first is that he really wants to see Obama and Hillary get what they deserve. The second possible motive is that Graham wants to hold these investigations over Democrats’ heads as a bargaining chip and keep them from abusing their investigative powers as a means to tie Trump’s hands for the next 2-6 years and make it impossible for him to govern.
The big difference between congressional Democrats and Senator Graham is that Graham wants to investigate legitimate scandals. Consider the facts: Even though the BuzzFeed story about Trump directing Michael Cohen to lie to Congress has been proven to be fake news, Democrats still want to investigate it!
Democrats are now pushing for the committee to dig into an explosive BuzzFeed News report that former Trump lawyer Michael Cohen told Mueller that Trump personally directed him to lie after his election about the timing of when the negotiations involving a Trump Tower project in Moscow ended in an effort to obscure the president’s involvement.
Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) sent a letter to Graham on Friday asking him to call Cohen to testify before the committee.
“Our committee must conduct a thorough investigation of the President’s involvement in these crimes and whether he obstructed justice to hide them. … The hour to put country before petty partisan differences has come,” he added.
As for Barack Obama… I’ve detailed more than thirty serious scandals that plagued the Obama administration over both of his terms that never resulted in anyone being truly held accountable. Hillary Clinton has yet to see justice for her role in Uranium One, or her email scandal. Personally, I think Graham is truly looking for justice, and not just flexing muscles to keep Democrats in line.
Asked about his investigation plans and the criticism from Democrats, a spokeswoman for Graham pointed to a pair of tweets from the GOP senator on Friday where he doubled down.
Graham described as “stunning” a Fox News report that Justice Department official Bruce Ohr discussed his views on a controversial research opposition dossier on Trump with individuals now on special counsel Robert Mueller’s probe.
“These purported revelations will NOT get a pass in Senate Judiciary Committee,” Graham added.
I’ve had a lot more respect for Senator Lindsey Graham since his smackdown during the Kavanaugh hearings. If he can bring about some justice for the crimes and abuses of Obama and Hillary, I’d be thrilled. So would anyone who believes in law and order.
Go for it, Senator Graham!
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Matt Margolis is the author of The Scandalous Presidency of Barack Obama and the bestselling The Worst President in History: The Legacy of Barack Obama. His new book, Trumping Obama: How President Trump Saved Us From Barack Obama’s Legacy, will be published in 2019. You can follow Matt on Twitter @MattMargolis
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