President Donald Trump should continue to fight subpoenas issued against him and members of his administration and family, because they are politically motivated and don't mark legitimate congressional oversight efforts, Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Lindsey Graham said Thursday.
"I don't think this is oversight," the South Carolina Republican told reporters on Capitol Hill. "This is trying to destroy him and his family. Oversight is to hold the executive branch accountable, not to retry the election. Trump won. This is more about destroying Trump than it is trying to oversee the executive branch, in my view."
However, special counsel Robert Mueller's investigation was a different matter, said Graham, as "he was a man allowed to do his job."
Graham's comments came after he told reporters on Wednesday he would not be calling in Mueller to testify before his committee, as he believes the investigation into Russian election interference and Trump "is over."
Trump has said further congressional subpoenas will not be obeyed, and Graham commented on Thursday that House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jerry Nadler, D-N.Y. and others must have a reason for issuing their demands.
"You just can't subpoena a person because you're a member of Congress," said Graham. "You have to have a reason. So we have a legal process, the president can challenge the subpoenas. He has every right to do so."
Sandy Fitzgerald ✉
Sandy Fitzgerald has more than three decades in journalism and serves as a general assignment writer for Newsmax covering news, media, and politics.
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