In an interview with MSNBC broadcast on Saturday, former Republican Rep. David Jolly of Florida ripped into GOP Sen. Lindsey Graham , Raw Story reports.
Graham recently said that he will not even read the transcripts from impeachment witnesses, calling the House Democrats’ investigation into President Donald Trump a “sham.”
Jolly suggested that Graham’s statements are not surprising, and described the South Carolina senator as “shameless.”
“It’s one more shameful moment from a shameless senator, what we’re seeing from Lindsey Graham, but consistent with all of the other arguments,” he said.
The former Republican congressman argued that GOP lawmakers cannot address the substance of allegations against Trump, because the president has admitted to the crime he is being accused of committing.
“No Republican argument will actually touch the fact that the president confessed to bribing and extorting a foreign nation-state for purposes of benefiting himself politically,” he said.
According to Jolly, Republicans will not change their minds until Republican voters change their minds.
The former congressman argued that GOP lawmakers are waiting for the public opinion to shift before they change their positions, suggesting that their behavior thus far demonstrates that they are focused on their political strategy.
“Right now, we have no reason to expect leadership from Republican, but we can expect them to follow,” he said, adding that the only Republican strategy right now is to make sure that the party base does not “erode,” because if it does, Democrats will win in 2020.
“Right now the political strategy is this, don’t let the base erode. That is it.”
Indeed, Republicans have long complained about procedural matters , complaining about the impeachment process itself, and alleging that House Democrats are not conducting their investigations in a transparent manner.
“I think Lindsey Graham should resign if he’s not going to do his job. He’s the chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee and he says he’s not going to take the time to look at the facts.” @DavidJollyFL on Senator Graham ignoring evidence of quid pro quo. #Hardball pic.twitter.com/sQP4SsFwkV
— The ReidOut (@thereidout) November 6, 2019
For weeks, Republicans have been complaining about the fact that Democrats are holding hearings behind closed doors. Now, when Democrats want to hold public hearings, they are suggesting that the inquiry does not even warrant attention.
Trump has consistently denied any wrongdoing, claiming to have only wanted to tackle corruption. But, according to House Democrats, Trump pressured the Ukrainian government to investigate former Vice President Joe Biden in order to damage the Democratic front-runner’s White House bid.
In order to force Ukraine to do as he says, Democrats claim, Trump withheld military aid, thus committing an impeachable offense.
Biden also claims to have done nothing wrong. The former vice president has maintained that Trump is only targeting him and his family because he is scared of running against him in 2020.