Graham Plans to Dig Into Clinton, Obama Scandals, Angering Democrats

As the newly appointed chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, Lindsey Graham wants to focus on Obama-era scandals, enraging Democrats on the panel.

Graham on Monday outlined several areas he wants to probe, the Hill reported. These areas include the FBI’s handling of its investigation into Hillary Clinton’s private email server and the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) warrant applications targeting former Trump campaign aide Carter Page. He has also reportedly called for an investigation into the Democrats’ conduct during Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh’s confirmation. 

Graham told reporters earlier this month that he would do a “deep dive into the FISA issue” as chairman of the Judiciary Committee. And he told Fox News last month that he believed the FBI “phoned in” the Clinton probe, noting that there is “a certain unevenness here about how you investigate campaigns.”

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However, senior Democrats on the Committee expressed concern and dissatisfaction with Graham’s plans, questioning whether such investigations were still relevant and not a trip to “yesteryear.”

“This is going to be like the History Channel it turns out. Instead of taking a look at the current issues, Lindsey Graham wants to go back and answer important questions about the Bermuda Triangle and Hillary Clinton,” Senator Dick Durbin told The Hill.

He was supported by Senator Sheldon Whitehouse, another member of the panel, who said that Graham should “investigate Benghazi some more too” — an apparent reference to a years-long House probe that Democrats considered a political stunt.

However, not all of Graham’s opponents are completely sceptical of his approach. The Republican Senator has had some experience in cutting deals with Democrats on the Committee including helping to draft legislation with Sens. Christopher Coons, Cory Booker and Thom Tilli that would protect special counsel Robert Mueller from being fired without “good cause”, a move that was opposed by the White House and Majority Leader Mitch McConnell.

“It is possible for the Judiciary Committee to remain a highly functional committee even while tackling controversial topics,” Coons said. Asked if he was suggesting that Graham should focus on more bipartisan areas first, he added that “I think that would be a more constructive way to start, I’ll simply put it that way.”

Graham’s investigations could overlap with work by the Senate Intelligence Committee, which is heading its own probe of the 2016 election. The two investigations have worked in tandem before, with both demanding to hear from Comey and meet with Mueller.