President Trump urged Sen. Lindsey Graham to call former President Barack Obama to testify in front of the Senate Judiciary Committee.
The immense pressure from the White House compounds growing impatience on the Right with the South Carolina Republican, who has long touted his plans to investigate Obama-era officials who allegedly targeted then-candidate Trump’s presidential campaign improperly during the Russia investigation.
“If I were a Senator or Congressman, the first person I would call to testify about the biggest political crime and scandal in the history of the USA, by FAR, is former President Obama,” Trump tweeted on Thursday. “He knew EVERYTHING. Do it [Lindsey Graham], just do it. No more Mr. Nice Guy. No more talk!”
If I were a Senator or Congressman, the first person I would call to testify about the biggest political crime and scandal in the history of the USA, by FAR, is former President Obama. He knew EVERYTHING. Do it @LindseyGrahamSC, just do it. No more Mr. Nice Guy. No more talk!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) May 14, 2020
Graham, who is the chairman of the judiciary panel, released a statement shortly thereafter raising concerns about calling Obama to testify.
“I am greatly concerned about the precedent that would be set by calling a former president for oversight. No president is above the law. However, the presidency has executive privilege claims against other branches of government,” he said.
Noting that these are “unusual times” and pointing out the political fight over the rule of law and the coronavirus pandemic, Graham said he would be open to having both Trump and Obama testify.
“As to the Judiciary Committee, both presidents are welcome to come before the committee and share their concerns about each other,” the senator said. “If nothing else, it would make for great television. However, I have great doubts about whether it would be wise for the country.”
Trump’s tweet followed the Wednesday release of a memo, declassified by acting Director of National Intelligence Richard Grenell, which contained a list of Obama administration officials who received information in response to unmasking requests targeting Trump’s former national security adviser, retired Lt. Gen. Michael Flynn.
Among the people on the list were former Vice President Joe Biden, the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee. His campaign responded to the release by criticizing Grenell, as well as the GOP senators who publicly released the memo for “their gross politicization of the intelligence process.”
Obama’s name was not seen on the partially redacted list, but several other members of his administration did make appearances.
Calls for investigations into what has been deemed “Obamagate” surged after the Justice Department filed to drop its criminal charges against Flynn. Included in the Justice Department’s motion to dismiss was an exhibit including notes that further raised questions about the extent to which Obama was privy to the actions taken by the FBI in its investigation of Flynn.
After the Justice Department moved to drop the Flynn case, Obama told former administration officials that the “rule of law is at risk.” He made the comments in leaked audio obtained by Yahoo News on Friday.
Graham said earlier this week that he did not plan on calling Obama to testify even as he acknowledged Trump’s frustration with his predecessor.
“I’m not anticipating calling President Obama,” Graham said, according to Politico, but he noted, “I think the president’s got a real good reason to be upset with the Obama people.”
His reticence to call Obama and his decision to wait on calling other officials while other legal matters, including the Flynn case, play out have not sat well with some who believe the senator has not fulfilled his promise to investigate the officials involved with the Russia inquiry.
“He hasn’t done a damn thing as the chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee, promising all the while that he will be investigating the investigators — he will be pursuing truth, justice, and the American way,” Fox Business host Lou Dobbs declared on his show in early March. “He is an absolute nonentity!”
Fox Business host Maria Bartiromo pressed the senator on Fox News’s Sunday Morning Futures earlier this month on his pledge to subpoena officials who may have knowledge of the investigation’s origins.
She went over instances dating back more than a year in which she said Graham promised to call and subpoena witnesses such as former FBI Director James Comey, former FBI agent Peter Strzok, former FBI Deputy Director Andrew McCabe, and former Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein.
Graham defended himself in response, arguing that he had no intention of “interfering in an ongoing criminal matter,” referring to U.S. Attorney John Durham’s investigation of the Russia inquiry.
