Lindsey Graham on Impeachment

Quotes by Senator Lindsey Graham on Impeachment

THEN
NOW


1998 - 1999
2019

Lindsey Graham on Impeachment Then
Lindsey Graham on Impeachment Now


#LindseyGraham 12/18/98: "The day Richard Nixon failed to answer that subpoena is the day he was subject to impeachment." » #Graham 9/25/19: "Democrats have lost their minds when it comes to President @realDonaldTrump." Click To Tweet

Quotes by Senator Lindsey Graham on Impeachment

THEN

1998 - 1999

Lindsey Graham on Impeachment Then
“Article 3 of impeachment against Richard Nixon was based on the idea that Richard Nixon as president failed to comply with subpoenas of Congress. Congress was going through its oversight function to provide oversight of the president. When asked for information, Richard Nixon chose not to comply and the Congress back in that time said, ‘You’re taking impeachment away from us, you’re becoming the judge and jury. It is not your job to tell us what we need, it is your job to comply with things we need to provide oversight over you.’
“The day Richard Nixon failed to answer that subpoena is the day he was subject to impeachment because he took the power from Congress over the impeachment process away from Congress, and he became the judge and jury.”
- Dec 18, 1998

Newsweek, April 26, 2019
Trump Ally Lindsey Graham Once Said President Could Be Impeached for Not Complying with Congressional Oversight

(retrieved 9/26/19)
quote starts at beginning
“[The President] doesn’t have to say ‘go lie for me,’ for it to be a crime. You don’t have to say ‘let’s obstruct justice’ for it to be a crime. You judge people on their conduct, not magic phrases.”
- Jan 10, 1999

Heavy, Sept 25, 2019
WATCH: Lindsey Graham’s Impeachment Views in 1999 Vs. 2019 ❲Video❳

(retrieved 9/26/19)
quote starts at beginning
The President…tried to fix his case. He tried to turn the judicial system upside down, every way but loose. He sent his friends to lie for him. He lied for himself. Any time any relevant question came up, instead of taking the honorable way out, he lied and dug a hole, and we are all here today because of that…
“You don’t even have to be convicted of a crime to lose your job in this constitutional republic if this body determines that your conduct as a public official is clearly out of bounds in your role, because impeachment is not about punishment. Impeachment is about cleansing the office. Impeachment is about restoring honor and integrity to the office…
“If we can do nothing else for this country, let us state clearly that this conduct is unacceptable by any President. These are in fact high crimes. They go to the core of why we are all here as a Nation and to the rule of law, the rules of litigation. He cheated, and you have to put him back in bounds, remove him. Determining this as a high crime
puts it back into bounds…
“The problem with keeping this President in office, in my opinion, is that these crimes can’t be ignored by anybody who looks at the evidence. They can be explained away, they can be excused; but they have far-reaching consequences for the law. And in his role as chief law enforcement officer of the land, how can we say to our fellow citizens that this will not be 20 months of ‘don’t do as I do, do as I say.’ What effect will that have? I think it would be devastating.”
- Jan 16, 1999

U.S. Congress, May 19, 2019
Congressional Record, Vol. 145: January 16, 1999

(retrieved 9/26/19)
quote starts at beginning


#LindseyGraham 1/10/99: "You don’t have to say ‘let’s obstruct justice’…You judge people on their conduct." » #Graham 9/25/19: "To impeach any president over a phone call like this would be insane." Click To Tweet

NOW

2019

Lindsey Graham on Impeachment Now
“Wow. Impeachment over this? What a nothing (non-quid pro quo) burger. Democrats have lost their minds when it comes to President @realDonaldTrump.”
“Those who believe that the transcript is a ‘Smoking Gun’ for impeachment, do something about it – have the courage of your convictions… Let the American people see where Members of Congress stand!… Those willing to impeach the president over this transcript have shown their hatred for @realDonaldTrump overrides reason.”
“I don’t mind the President] asking Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky to look into an investigation on Joe Biden’s son;… I think it’s very appropriate for the President of the United States to suggest that you got a corruption problem and this prosecutor that was fired, maybe it was because he was corrupt, or maybe because he was looking at something close to America here.”
Sept 25, 2019 -

Heavy, Sept 25, 2019
WATCH: Lindsey Graham’s Impeachment Views in 1999 Vs. 2019 ❲Video❳

(retrieved 9/26/19)
quote starts at beginning
“From my point of view, to impeach any president over a phone call like this would be insane. From quid pro quo aspect, there’s nothing there.”
Sept 25, 2019 -

CNN, Sept 25, 2019
Sen. Lindsey Graham: To impeach a president over a phone call like this ‘would be insane’

(retrieved 9/26/19)
quote starts at beginning
“As to the whistleblower complaint — the transcript speaks for itself – no quid pro quo. The Democrats bought a pig in a poke.”
“Clearly a coordinated effort to take second-hand information to create a narrative damaging to the President. When I think of whistleblower complaints I generally think of someone with first-hand knowledge of the events in question.”
“In America you can’t even get a parking ticket based on hearsay testimony. But you can impeach a president? I certainly hope not.”
“I have zero problems with this phone call [between Trump and Zelensky]. There is no quid pro quo here but I do have a problem with Nancy Pelosi. If you believe that Donald Trump did something to hurt this country you owe it to vote not talk about impeaching the president. The only way to open up an impeachment inquiry is to vote.…
“I think this whole thing is a sham… I have the president’s back because I think this is a setup.”
Sept 29, 2019 -

CBS News, Sept 29, 2019

(retrieved 9/29/19)
“This is a sham. This is a joke… This is a lynching in every sense. This is un-American. I’ve never seen a situation in my lifetime as a lawyer where somebody is accused of a major misconduct who cannot confront the accuser, call witnesses on their behalf, and have the discussion in the light of day so the public can judge. If this continues in the House, it’s a complete sham and I will do everything I can to make sure it doesn’t live very long in the Senate.”
Oct 22, 2019 -

The Hill, Oct 22, 2019
Graham backs Trump: 'This is a lynching in every sense'

(retrieved 10/22/19)
quote starts at beginning


#LindseyGraham 1/16/99: "Impeachment is about cleansing the office." » #Graham 9/25/19: "Those willing to impeach the president over this transcript have shown their hatred for @realDonaldTrump overrides reason." Click To Tweet