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Senator Lindsey O. Graham (R-S.C.) Is the Chair of the Senate Committee on the Judiciary. (Jeenah Moon / Reuters)
Senate Judiciary Committee Chair Lindsey O. Graham on Sunday repressed White House chief Jared Kushner, who recently downplayed Russia's interference in the 2016 election, describing the measures taken by Moscow's "big contract" worthy of new sanctions.
The South Carolina Republican, however, insisted that President Trump had done nothing wrong, citing the refusal of special counsel Robert S. Mueller III to accuse him of conspiracy or obstruction of justice. as part of the investigation into Russia.
"I think the idea that this president is obstructing justice is nonsense," said Graham, a fierce ally of Trump, on CBS News' "The Face of the Nation." "I can not think of anything that President Trump did to stop Mueller from doing the same job … I heard everything I needed to know."
In the course of the interview, however, Graham disputed Trump's son-in-law's assertion in a According to Time magazine, on Tuesday, Russia's attempt to win the 2016 election in favor of Trump is tantamount to "a few Facebook ads" – and that Mueller's investigation was more detrimental to the country than the efforts Russian.
"You look at what Russia did, you know, by buying ads on Facebook to sow dissent. . . and it's a terrible thing, "Kushner said last week. "But I think the investigations and all the speculation that has taken place over the past two years have had a much harder impact on our democracy than some Facebook ads."
Graham said on Sunday that "although I love Jared very much," he "sidesteps a detail," namely that the Russians have hacked emails from the campaign leader of the Democratic presidential candidate and the National Committee. Democrat.
"Can you imagine what we would say if the Russians or the Iranians hacked the Republican party's presidential team?" Asked Graham. "So, no, it's a big problem. It's not just a few ads on Facebook. They were very successful in opposing one American to another during the 2016 campaign. "
Graham also asserted that "an attack against a party should be an attack against all" and said that he had spoken to Trump about the possibility of imposing more sanctions on Moscow.
"They're coming back to us again, and I'd like to stop them, and one way to stop them is to make them pay a price," Graham said, adding later: "The Russians are up to the task … All that we did with the Russians not working, we need more sanctions, not less. "
Trump, however, has a persistent reluctance to accept Russia's intervention in the 2016 elections, even questioning the conclusions of his own intelligence community regarding Russian piracy. Several media reported that Trump believed that such an assertion would compromise his victory.
Graham's remarks, however, should not please the Democrats, as he insisted that nothing would be prosecuted following Mueller's report at a time when Democrats in the House said they would would use this document as a roadmap for their own surveys.
One of the 10 possible cases of obstruction cited in the Mueller report, which is over 400 pages long, would implicate Trump who allegedly called White House lawyer Donald McGahn to order him to return Mueller. Democrats in the House summoned McGahn to appear, but Graham said he was not considering doing the same thing in the Senate.
"I do not care what he said to Don McGahn, that's what he did, and the president never objected," Graham said. you plan to look at all the presidents who come to a staff member and ask them to do something crazy, you would have no president. "
However, in his report, Mueller claimed that he did not have the power to determine whether Trump had obstructed justice. The special council seemed to defer to Congress, citing directives from the Justice Department prohibiting a president from being charged with a crime.
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