Sen. Lindsey Graham. | Andrew Harnik/AP Photo
President Donald Trump took a swing at Sen. Lindsey Graham on Thursday in the aftermath of two Supreme Court decisions involving his closely held financial records, lamenting that the Senate Judiciary Committee chairman and close Trump ally was not doing enough to target the president’s political foes.
Trump’s tweets came after a Supreme Court decision upheld a Manhattan grand jury subpoena seeking his tax returns and other financial documents as part of a criminal investigation into the practices of the Trump Organization. In response, Trump complained that former President Barack Obama was not receiving enough scrutiny over his administration’s decision to open up a counterintelligence investigation into alleged ties between the Trump campaign and the Russian government in 2016.
“We have a totally corrupt previous Administration, including a President and Vice President who spied on my campaign, AND GOT CAUGHT…and nothing happens to them. This crime was taking place even before my election, everyone knows it, and yet all are frozen stiff with fear,” Trump wrote on Twitter. He specifically called out Graham’s committee, writing: “No Republican Senate Judiciary response.”
The president’s claim doesn’t take into account the fact that Graham (R-S.C.) is running a wide-ranging investigation into the origins of the Russia investigation and was granted broad subpoena power to compel testimony from several former senior Obama administration officials.
Graham did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Trump’s jab.
Earlier this year, Trump pushed Graham to issue a subpoena to Obama himself, demanding that he be put under oath. But Graham has swiftly rejected those calls, arguing it would set a dangerous precedent. Trump has continued to push for such an action.
While Thursday’s Supreme Court rulings handed Trump a loss in the Manhattan case, the justices punted on a separate case involving congressional subpoenas for similar financial records, all but ensuring that the documents will not reach Congress or the public until after Election Day.
