Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) predicted that President Donald Trump would be acquitted in the Senate’s impeachment trial before the State of the Union address on February 4.
Speaking to Fox News’s Sean Hannity on Wednesday, Graham said, “The best thing for the American people is to end this crap as quickly as possible, to have a trial in the Senate, bipartisan acquittal of the president.”
“And on February 4, when when the president comes into the House chamber to deliver the State of the Union, he will have been acquitted by the Senate,” Graham added.
Watch his comments below:
Graham said that he does not want the trial to feature any new witnesses because “every witness being requested by Democrats were available to the House.”
“Then there will be an effort to call witnesses or ask for documents. And I hope that nobody will be called as a witness. Because every witness being requested by the Democrats were available to the House. They chose not to call them. Executive privilege applies to all these witnesses. So I’m hoping this can be done in about a week, and I predict a bi-partisan acquittal of President Trump.”
Last month, Graham called the impeachment effort a “crock” and said that he does not want any witnesses because he wants the trial to wrap up as quickly as possible, as IJR has previously reported.
However, Democrats have called for new witnesses and documents to ensure that the Senate conducts a trial that “adjudicates the case fairly.”
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) previously sent a letter to Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) asking that the Senate call several White House aides to testify in the trial.
McConnell rejected the request at the time, saying that he would prefer to pass a rules package governing the trial and then decide whether or not to call witnesses.
Several Senate Republicans have signaled an openness to new witnesses, but also said they believe the Senate should first pass a rules package and then debate whether to or not to call witnesses.