Sen. Lindsey Graham On Possibility of Subpoena In Trump Wiretapping Allegation: If There Is No Warrant Only Way To Surveil Would Be Illegal

Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) joined Kilmeade and Friends today to discuss President Trump’s allegations he was wiretapped by President Obama, and how a release of documents tied to the allegations is imperative.

Sen. Graham on whether or not there is evidence of collusion between President Trump and Russia:

Was there ever a warrant issued against the Trump campaign for suspicious activities regarding foreign agents or campaign finance laws being violated. I want to know. The president’s asked that question. He deserves an answer. Is there a criminal investigation into the Trump campaign ongoing? Director of National Intelligence Clapper said that he knew of no evidence of collusion between the Trump folks and Russia. I want to know the answer to that.

Sen. Graham regarding reports that FBI Director James Comey would speak on the issue today:

That was so screwed up. All I can tell you is that our friends at CNN sort of got this wrong. I’ve never called Comey as a witness today. We’re going to have people testify before the Judiciary Committee about the techniques that Russia uses to undermine democracy all over the world.  We wrote a letter to Comey, myself and Senator Whitehouse a week ago, to share with us any information regarding a warrant being issued against the Trump campaign. He hasn’t answered that letter, if he doesn’t answer it today I’m going to go to the chairman of the Committee Senator Grassley and seek his support to subpoena that information.

Sen. Graham on why he wants to know if the FBI is inquiring?

The president has suggested, Trump, that his campaign was surveiled by the federal government. He didn’t say that Obama himself did the wiretapping, but you’ve got the current president believing that his campaign was surveiled by the federal government in 2016. One of the ways to find that out is to see if a warrant was ever issued. If there is no warrant than the only way to surveil would have clearly been illegal, and I haven’t seen any evidence of collusion between the Trump campaign and the Russians. I haven’t seen any evidence that a warrant was issued.

Sen. Graham in response to Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov saying a country can easily intervene and influence the electoral process:

The hearing today is to establish the pattern that Russia has regarding democracies in general. What did they do to undermine elections in other countries. In some cases they actually fund parties that are sympathetic to the Russian position, they hack into systems and release the information within the country the create fake news to undermine relationships… So the reason I’m having this hearing today is to try to explain to the American people that Russia’s up to no good when it comes to democracies in the Baltics, Ukraine and Georgia, and now in our backyard. Russia did with their intelligence services hack into the DNC, they hacked into Podesta’s emails, they shared that information with WikiLeaks. It was used to interfere in our election, I don’t think it changed the outcome. And here’s what I told President Trump, you’re going to be tough on Iran and China, you need to be. They have the same type capability. So when somebody interferes in our election, even if they don’t change the results foreign power, you need to hit them . And that’s what we’re going to do.

Sen. Graham on if he feels better after talking to President Trump about his view on Russia:

Yes I do… I feel like the military is finally in good hands. Obama’s been a nightmare on foreign policy. He withdrew from Iraq against sound military advice, there would be no ISIL if he’d kept troops in the country as requested by our commanders. He drew a red line against Assad, Assad crossed it, the rest is history. He let Libya just deteriorate into complete hell. He allowed the military to be gutted, so I think President Trump is going to rebuild our military, it is his number one priority. I think when it comes to Russia he’s going to try to do business with them but I think he does understand that Putin has to be dealt with from a position of strength. When it comes to the Iranian nuclear agreement it’s a godsend to have him in town. He sees the agreement as a pathway to a bomb and that the Ayatollah has been given the deal of a lifetime and he’d like to get a better deal. When it comes to China he understands that they’re cheating when it comes to the way they trade and he wants to stop the cheating. And when it comes to North Korea he’s not going to let them build a missile and put a nuclear weapon on top of it to hit America. And so I think he’s getting the world pretty darn good and hope he will understand that Putin’s not our friend. Putin’s a bad hombre and you need to get his attention by pushing back.

Sen. Graham on Rachel Maddow releasing President Trump’s 2005 tax returns:

I don’t know how she got a hold of his tax returns but to those who claimed he never paid taxes apparently that’s not true… I’m not seeking his tax records, I wish he would reveal them as other candidates have done. In 2020 I’m going to try to pass a law that says everybody running for president in 2020 has to share with the public a few years of their tax returns, I think that’s just good government. I’m focused on helping the president where I can. Sometimes we won’t agree, that doesn’t mean we can’t agree on the next issue. Generally speaking I think he’s off to a good start. The new executive order will withstand legal scrutiny about vetting. I think his plan for the military is terrific. I think we cannot destroy the State Department to pay for the military increase, there’s a way to avoid that. I hope we can do something constructive on immigration, and when it comes to healthcare here’s what I would tell him. If the Republicans do not give you a plan that you believe will fundamentally change Obamacare and help the people that got you elected, walk away. Don’t do it because it’s a Republican plan, challenge the Democrats when Obamacare collapses, which it will, to help you fix a problem they created.

Listen to the full interview below: