Graham: Not ‘wise’ for House Republicans to serve on Trump trial team

Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) on Thursday warned President Trump against putting House Republican lawmakers on his legal team for the Senate’s impeachment trial.

“I don’t think it’s wise. I think we need to elevate the argument beyond body politics, beyond party politics and talk about the constitutional problems with these two articles,” Graham told reporters.

Graham’s comments come amid reports that Trump is considering adding GOP allies, including Reps. John Ratcliffe (R-Texas) or Jim Jordan (R-Ohio), to his legal team for the Senate trial.

Senators are waiting for House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) to send the two articles of impeachment to the Senate. Lawmakers believe she could do so as soon as this week, though she has not publicly tipped her hand about her thinking on a timeline.

Talk about adding Republican lawmakers to Trump’s impeachment team comes as Senate Republicans have largely stuck with coordinating with White House counsel Pat Cipollone, who is expected to lead the president’s legal team during a Senate trial.

Cipollone has met with both the Senate Republican Conference and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.).

McConnell pledged last month after a meeting with Cipollone that they would be “total coordination” with the White House lawyer.

“Everything I do during this I’m coordinating with the White House counsel. There will be no difference between the president’s position and our position as to how to handle this,” McConnell told Fox News at the time.