Sen. James Lankford (R-OK) has reportedly been tapped to become the new chair of the Senate Select Committee on Ethics next month. Lankford has staunchly defended Donald Trump and those around him, even as their ethical scandals have mounted.
Recently, Lankford dismissed concerns about Trump’s personal lawyer and “de facto Secretary of State” Rudy Giuliani. “Part of the challenge is not a shadow foreign policy. It is doing political work for the president, as well as legal work. Obviously, Rudy Giuliani has been very engaged, trying to defend the president on all these accusations with Russia,” he told WBUR’s On Point in late September.
Lankford also minimized Trump’s effort to pressure Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy to dig up dirt on political opponents, falsely claiming that Zelenskiy was “actually the one who brought the issue up — about Rudy Giuliani, and about the Hunter Biden topic — up to President Trump, first. And, then, President Trump actually responded back to him.” The call summary released by the White House shows it was Trump who brought up the Bidens and Crowdstrike.