Lindsey Graham Cautions GOP Impeachment Would Cause 'Great Damage'

Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham of South Carolina says the impeachment effort being pushed by House Democrats could "do great damage to the institutions of government” and "could invite further violence."

The South Carolina lawmaker warned his GOP colleagues Wednesday not to support it.

Graham is a frequent ally of President Donald Trump. Last week, Graham condemned the violent mob of the president's supporters who invaded the Capitol. After that siege and after Trump had pushed the unconstitutional argument that Vice President Mike Pence could overturn the election results, Graham said to count him out and that "enough is enough.”

Still, Graham has stayed in touch with the president.

And Graham's message to fellow Republicans on impeachment is that those "who legitimize this process, you are doing great damage not only to the country, the future of the presidency, but also to the party.”

He says the millions of people who have supported Trump and his agenda "should not be demonized because of the despicable actions of a seditious mob."

In addition to his public statement, Graham also has been reaching out to Republicans with his message.

Graham, who last week said he'd had "enough" of Trump after the Capitol riot, has "has been calling on his own," spokesman Kevin Bishop told Politico.

At least five GOP House members have said they will support impeachment, and two Republican senators have called on Trump to resign. Another GOP senator has said he will take a look at the articles of impeachment when they are sent to the Senate.

Graham's full statement:

"Supporting the impeachment of President Trump under these circumstances will do great damage to the institutions of government and could invite further violence at a time the President is calling for calm. If there was a time for America's political leaders to bend a knee and ask for God's counsel and guidance, it is now. The most important thing for leaders to do in times of crisis is to make things better, not worse.

"The process being used in the House to impeach President Trump is an affront to any concept of due process and will further divide the country. The President, who will be leaving office in less than a week, has committed to an orderly transfer of power, encouraging calm and rejecting violence.

"The House impeachment process seeks to legitimize a snap impeachment totally void of due process. No hearings. No witnesses. It is a rushed process that, over time, will become a threat to future presidents. As to Senate leadership, I fear they are making the problem worse, not better.

"The last thing the country needs is an impeachment trial of a president who is leaving office in one week.

"Democrats have already impeached the President once over a matter which was not worthy of that process. Now they seek to do it again, believing that this effort will wash for history the fact that the first impeachment was based on the thinnest of pretenses: a phone call with the leader of Ukraine. Impeachment should never be a 'do-over,' but that is what Democrats are seeking to do today.

"To my Republican colleagues who legitimize this process, you are doing great damage not only to the country, the future of the presidency, but also to the party. The millions who have supported President Trump and his agenda should not be demonized because of the despicable actions of a seditious mob. The individuals who participated in the storming of the Capitol should be met with the full force of the law. They should and will be held accountable.”