No, Chuck Grassley and Lindsey Graham aren’t suddenly trying to derail the Trump-Russia investigation
Over the past few days, various headlines have suggested that certain prominent Republicans in the Senate are suddenly trying to derail the investigation into Donald Trump’s Russia scandal. It’s set off a moderate level of panic among those in the anti-Trump resistance. But based on how things have been playing out up to now, and on what’s now transpiring, I’m not buying into the hype and panic. The facts don’t match the fear.
I’m aware that some highly regarded pundits on the left disagree with my assessment, and that’s okay. Differing takes among liberals are a good thing. But for months now, Republican Senators Chuck Grassley and Lindsey Graham have been inching closer to giving their Democratic counterparts whatever they want when it comes to the Trump-Russia investigation. Grassley has given Dianne Feinstein nearly carte blanche to use their Judiciary committee to dig into Trump, even though he has the majority. In fact Grassley and Graham both signed off on a bipartisan letter earlier this week (link), demanding that the investigation go deeper into Jared Kushner.
But now Grassley and Graham are both being accused of trying to derail the FBI’s investigation into the Trump-Russia scandal altogether. Although I don’t fully trust either of them, I don’t buy it. For starters, it makes no sense within the context of their overall actions toward the scandal. When I look at these new headlines, I do see why some are alarmed. For instance Grassley and Graham are both asking the FBI for its surveillance warrants in relation to the scandal (link). And Grassley is also giving grief to acting FBI Director Andrew McCabe (link). But these developments don’t come across as sabotage. In fact these sudden demands are not likely to lead to anything, nor does that appear to be the intention. Instead they come across as something far more familiar: pandering.
Grassley and Graham are both Republicans who are investigating a corrupt Republican President. They’re both politically savvy enough to know that they have to pander to their own side to a degree, if they want to retain their footing. It’s why, when Graham invited Resistance hero Sally Yates to publicly testify against Trump, he simultaneously asked Susan Rice to testify about the phony scandal that Trump invented about her. Graham knew Rice wouldn’t show, and he didn’t follow up with her after she didn’t show. But it was an easy opportunity to throw a symbolic bone to Republicans out there, just by publicly insisting that she show up, and keep his own side from eating him alive as he pushes further into Trump’s scandals.
I’m not suggesting that the Resistance should trust Chuck Grassley or Lindsey Graham. In fact they should not be trusted. No politician, tasked with investigating a President of his own party, should ever be left to his own devices. It goes against a politician’s every instinct to expose a scandal within his own party. The Resistance should continue to actively apply pressure to Grassley, Graham, and other key Senate Republicans tasked with investigating Trump’s scandals. They’ll only keep pushing further with the Trump-Russia investigation if we keep pushing them. But based on the events of the past few days, it’s not time to hit the panic button with Grassley and Graham. Let’s just watch them closely. Call their offices today if you want to nudge them. But if they want to publicly pander to both sides like the politicians that they are, then so be it, as long as they’re pushing forward with the investigation. If you’re a regular reader, feel free to support Palmer Report
