Sen. Lindsey Graham cautioned President Trump’s personal lawyer Rudy Giuliani against making explosive claims if he can’t provide the evidence to prove them.
Giuliani claimed earlier this week he has proof the Trump impeachment investigation was a “cover-up” by Democrats.
“I don’t know what Rudy’s got, but I’m going to send him a letter. If you’re going to go on national television and tell the country that you’ve found evidence of a cover-up, then I hope you know what you’re talking about,” Graham told reporters on Wednesday.
“I like Rudy a lot, but we’re going to have to watch what we say,” the Republican senator added.
Giuliani recently visited Ukraine and meet with officials as part of his investigation to uncover damaging information on Trump’s political rival Joe Biden.
Giuliani said he “forced out” former Ambassador to Ukraine Marie Yovanovitch, claiming the American diplomat was corrupt for blocking the visa request of a Ukrainian official.
“I didn’t need her out of the way. I forced her out because she’s corrupt,” he told Fox News on Monday, after he told the New Yorker that he “needed Yovanovitch out of the way.”
Giuliani has been investigating unverified corruption claims against the former vice president. The president and his lawyer claim Biden improperly used his role to pressure Ukraine to fire former top Ukrainian prosecutor Viktor Shokin and to drop an investigation into a gas company that employed his son Hunter Biden.
Their allegations stem from a 2018 video showing the elder Biden bragging about threatening to hold back $1 billion in U.S. loan guarantees if Ukraine did not terminate Shokin from his post. Shokin was removed in 2016 from his position amid international pressure.
Graham, who has defended Trump amid Democrats’ impeachment push, has invited Giuliani to testify before the Senate Judiciary Committee about his concerns involving corruption in Ukraine. But Graham said Giuliani must also be willing to answer questions about his own conduct in Ukraine.
“If he comes, you gotta be willing to ask questions about your conduct. It’s just not good for the country to make these accusations on cable television without them being tested,” Graham said.
