Washington – Republican Senator Lindsey Graham of South Carolina said on Sunday that the outcome of former President Donald Trump’s impeachment trial “really is not in doubt” as many Republicans believe the Senate has no authority to try a president who is no longer in office and will probably vote to absolve him.
“It is not a question of how the trial ends, it is a question of when it ends,” Graham said in an interview with “Face the Nation”. “Republicans are going to see this as an unconstitutional exercise, and the only question is, are they going to call witnesses, how long will the trial last? But the outcome is really not in doubt.”
The Senate is about to meet as an impeachment court on Tuesday to hear the case from House Democrats about why they believe Trump committed high crimes and misdemeanors for his conduct in the previous weeks and on the morning of the July 6 attack. January to the US Capitol Building. The House passed a single impeachment article last month accusing Trump of inciting insurrection, and 10 Republicans joined the Democrats in the historic vote.
While the former president’s impeachment chamber while he was still in office, republican senators raised questions about the constitutionality of the forthcoming impeachment trial, as the constitution does not say whether a former president can be tried. Chief Justice John Roberts will don’t preside about the process, what Republicans say reinforces their case of why the Senate has no authority to try a president who is out of office.
Forty-five Republicans voted last month in favor of a motion filed by Republican Senator Rand Paul challenging the constitutionality of the impeachment trial, indicating that Democrats will hardly get the support of the 17 Republicans they would need to condemn Trump.
Graham said that while he does not believe the January 6 events were “OK”, he believes that, in the eyes of most Republicans, the impeachment trial is an “unconstitutional exercise”.
“The president’s behavior, in my opinion, is not a crime, but he can be charged if people think he did it, because now he is an ordinary citizen,” he said.
The South Carolina senator, who was one of Trump’s closest allies in Congress, said lawmakers never in a president’s impeachment history after he stepped down.
“I think the Constitution has been flagrantly violated because when it comes to Trump, there seems to be no end to all of that,” he said. “Therefore, the trial will result in acquittal.”
Graham said the longer a trial takes, the worse it will be for the country.
“I am ready to move on. I am ready to end the impeachment trial because I think it is blatantly unconstitutional. I am ready to continue trying to resolve the nation’s problems,” said Graham. “And as for Donald Trump, he is the most popular figure in the Republican Party, he has had a consequent presidency. January 6 was a very bad day for America and he will have his share of the blame in history.”