Republican Senator Lindsey Graham has adopted an unconventional line of defence for the US president over the latter's alleged abuse of power. According to the Senator, the Trump administration could not form any quid pro quo relations with Ukrainian counterparts, because they have been shown to be incapable of inculcating a coherent policy towards the east European state.
"The whole process is a joke. The whole idea that there’s a quid pro quo based on somebody changing their testimony presuming there was […] What I can tell you about the Trump policy toward Ukraine. It was incoherent. It depends on who you talk to; they seem to be incapable of forming a quid pro quo", the Senator said.
Graham attempted to scold the House Democrats' impeachment of Trump, calling it "political vendetta" and questioning the legitimacy of the process currently spearheaded by the chairman of House Intelligence Committee, Adam Schiff.
“The whole process is a joke. ….You [media] just pick things you like. Ya’ll hate this guy [Trump]. Ya’ll want to get him impeached. I’m not buying into Schiff running a legitimate operation over there. ...This is a political vendetta.” — @LindseyGrahamSC pic.twitter.com/RprXX4GHVJ
— Kevin Bishop (@KevinDBishop) November 6, 2019
Impeachment Process
Following numerous accusations of hidden dealings, House Democrats have assembled and passed new guidelines for the impeachment process, which includes the publication of transcripts from witness depositions. Trump, who calls the process a "witch hunt" continue to criticise the Democrats' for a lack of due process, particularly as the White House's opportunities to defend itself are said to be limited.
Democrats believe that Trump withheld financial aid to Ukraine in a bid to force its administration to start a criminal probe into Joe Biden, a possible opponent of POTUS in the 2020 election. The allegation was initially based on the complaint of an anonymous whistleblower, who in turn based his accusations on indirect knowledge of a July 2019 telephone conversation between the US and Ukrainian presidents.
In a released transcript of the call, Trump expressed his interest in Ukraine probing allegations that Joe Biden exerted undue pressure on Ukrainian authorities during his tenure as US vice president with the aim of terminating a criminal investigation into a Ukrainian company on which his son, Hunter Biden, sat on the board. Both Bidens deny such actions took place.
Ukrainian prosecutors investigated the Ukrainian gas firm, Burisma, where Hunter Biden was a member of the board of directors, but the probe was stopped after the lead prosecutor was sacked by the country's government apparently at Biden's request.
