Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) drew sharp criticism at the Doha Forum on Saturday when he made clear that — despite the oath he’s expected to take at a forthcoming impeachment trial in the Senate — he doesn’t have any plans to keep an open mind or act as an “impartial” juror regarding the conduct of President Donald Trump.
But another section of his comments that didn’t gain as much attention is in some ways even more damning. The interviewer pressed him on the nature of Trump’s conduct in the Ukraine scandal, saying: “Is it OK… ever OK for an American president to ask a foreign leader to investigate a political rival?”
Graham, and everyone else, knows that this is exactly what Trump did. And had Trump not done it, there would be universal agreement that it was wrong. So when Graham answered, he shamefully phrased his response to avoid giving a direct answer, while trying to sound as if he was exonerating the president.