Graham Is A No-Show For Press Conference After Being Linked To Ukraine Scandal
JakeThomas
Senator Lindsey Graham skipped out on a planned press conference on Wednesday following reports that tied him to President Donald Trump’s Ukraine scandal, according to RawStory.
The South Carolina Republican was scheduled for a news conference in the morning, Fox News had reported, but Graham never showed.
His absence followed a Daily Beast report detailing claims by the attorney for Lev Parnas that “President Donald Trump’s attorney, Rudy Giuliani, provided Graham with a letter lobbying for sanctions on Ukrainian officials.”
Parnas is a former associate of Giuliani who was heavily involved in attempts to oust former Ukraine Ambassador Marie Yovanovitch and secure investigations into Trump’s political rivals, namely Joe Biden.
Trump also noted Graham’s absence on Wednesday, RawStory reported, saying during his signing of the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) that the senator was likely at his press conference.
“Lindsey Graham!” Trump called out. “Where is Lindsey? He may be having a news conference right now. He said, ‘I’m going over to his news conference!’ I said, ‘I’d rather have you at [your] news conference.'”
But Graham was nowhere to be found, instead sending out an email and tweets decrying the need for new witnesses in Trump’s impeachment trial.
“It is my opinion, based on the law and facts, that additional testimony is unnecessary in this case,” Graham’s email stated, adding, “...I am concerned when John Bolton’s credibility is attacked, it makes it more likely some will feel the need to call him as a witness.”
“For the sake of argument, one could assume everything attributable to John Bolton is accurate and still the House case would fall well below the standards to remove a president from office.”
As of noon, Graham had yet to appear before reporters.
