Senator Lindsey Graham warned that Republicans could move Vice President Kamala Harris’s impeachment process – arguing that former President Donald Trump’s Senate impeachment trial for triggering the Capitol riot “opened Pandora’s box.”
Speaking on “Fox News Sunday”, the day after the Senate voted 57-43 to acquit the former president on a single charge of “inciting insurrection”, the South Carolina Republican argued that the vice president’s support for a fund that saved the protesters over the summer could make it responsible for the same punishment.
“And if you use this model, I don’t know how Kamala Harris is not impeached if Republicans take control of the House,” said Graham.
“Because she really helped the troublemakers and one of the troublemakers went back to the streets and broke someone’s head. So, we opened the Pandora’s box here and am I sad for the country? “
Graham was referring to Harris’ support for the Minnesota Freedom Fund before he became President Biden’s running mate, which helped protesters to post bail.
“If you can, join @MNFreedomFund now to help pay bail for those protesting in Minnesota,” she said on Twitter in June.
But the fund, which opposed the concept of cash bail, was used to guarantee relief for a number of convicted violent criminals, as well as protesters during the summer, who were demonstrating against the death of George Floyd at the hands of law enforcement officers. Minneapolis.
A Fox News report found that among those rescued by the MFF were a suspect who shot the police, a twice-convicted sex offender and a woman accused of killing a friend.
It was not clear who allegedly “broke someone’s head”, however.
Graham also talked about the possibility of Harris ‘impeachment in an interview earlier this month with Fox News’ Sean Hannity, when he tried to discourage Democrats from calling witnesses at Trump’s impeachment trial, noting that this would prolong the process and implicate Harris.
“If you’re going to chase this, and you want to start calling witnesses, and you want to drag this thing out, it would be fair to have the Kamala Harris tape, where she bailed people out of prison,” said Graham.
“What more could you do to incite violence in the future than to bail people who broke into stores and beat up police,” added Graham. ”How is this not inciting future violence? Watch what you want for my fellow Democrats, watch what you want. “
During the trial, Trump’s legal team showed a series of videos in his defense of Trump, showing a series of Democrats urging followers to “fight”, including Harris, to defend the former president’s comments at a meeting of supporters before the invasion of the Capitol did not incite the crowd.
The Senate acquitted Trump of provoking the mutiny by 57-43 votes, which fell far short of the 67-vote margin needed to condemn.
Graham, who was among the Republicans who voted for absolution, said the former president may have pushed “narratives about the election that I think are neither solid nor true”, but he does not believe Trump’s words have stirred up the crowd.
“The president is a handful and what happened [at the Capitol] on January 6 it was terrible for the country. But he is not the only culprit. Democrats stood on the sidelines and watched the country burn down for a year and a half without saying a word, and most Republicans are tired of hypocrisy, ”said Graham.
He also said he spoke to Trump on Saturday night, who assured him that he was looking to return to fighting for Republicans to regain their majorities in the Senate and the House.