Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) said on Sunday that President Trump acted inappropriately this week when he called on his Department of Justice to investigate Hillary Clinton and prominent Democrats involved in her 2016 campaign.
Graham, a Republican who said he believes that there needs to be a special investigation into Clinton’s behavior as Secretary of State, told Chris Wallace on Fox News Sunday that Trump crossed a line this week when he said he was “disappointed in the Justice Department.” Speaking to reporters Friday, Trump encouraged the Justice Department to look into anything from the Uranium deal to Clinton’s emails and her arrangements with the Democratic National Committee.
“That’s just not the way we do it in America,” Graham said.
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Pressed by Wallace, Graham went on to explain that Trump was overstepping his role as commander-in-chief.
“The president of the United States is in charge of the executive branch,” Graham said. “It’s not his job to be telling the attorney general to prosecute a particular individual or group. It is the attorney general’s job to do that, independent. We have a rule of law that is independent of political influence and when you call on the attorney general to prosecute your former opponent, that is crossing the line.”
Graham did not hold back, however, from calling for a special counsel to investigate various Democratic Party scandals, including the uranium deal and research firm Fusion GPS’ work on the Russian dossier.
The South Carolina senator has previously been critical of Trump’s potential interference with the Department of Justice. In July, he told reporters that if Trump fired Attorney General Jeff Sessions, “there will be holy hell to pay.”