Graham to release report on his probe into Russia investigation before election

Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) said Tuesday that he wants to release the findings of his investigation into the federal Russia probe before the November election.

Graham, speaking to a small group of reporters, said that he planned to wrap up the Judiciary Committee investigation by September or October.

“I want to do it before the election, I want to get all the information out there,” Graham said when asked if the plan was to release the report before the election.

Graham’s timeline, which was first reported by The Hill last week, would have him releasing a report on the committee’s probe only weeks before the November election, where Trump is set to face off against former Vice President Joe Biden, the presumptive Democratic nominee. 

In addition to the Senate panel examining “Crossfire Hurricane,” the name for the FBI investigation into Russia’s 2016 election meddling and the Trump campaign, Graham has said that his investigation will also look at the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court.

Republicans have pushed to specifically examine the handling of the investigation of former Trump national security adviser Michael Flynn, which was part of the Russia probe.

Asked on Tuesday if releasing the report shortly before the election made it look like he was trying to influence the election, Graham replied: “I’m trying to explain to the American people what happened.” 

Graham is asking the Judiciary Committee to give him subpoena authority to request interviews or documents from dozens of officials. That vote is expected to take place on June 4, where he’ll need a majority of the panel to support his request. 

Asked who he actually wanted to speak with in person, Graham said part of it depended on what information they could get from documents but that he wanted to hear from the “major players” including former FBI Director James Comey, former FBI Deputy Director Andrew McCabe and former Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein.

He added that he wanted Attorney General William Barr to come “toward the end,” and that he wanted to hear from the Justice Department about the recent decision to drop the Flynn case.

Senate Republican chairmen, including Graham, are increasingly ramping up their investigation into decisions stemming from the Obama administration.

Sen. Ron Johnson (R-Wis.), the chairman of the Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, has a vote scheduled for Wednesday on a subpoena related to his investigation into Hunter Biden and Ukrainian energy company Burisma Holdings.

Democrats have fumed over the investigations, arguing that Republicans are using their gavel to try to help Trump as he prepares to face Joe Biden in the November election.

“The Chairman of the Judiciary Committee announced that his committee will soon consider subpoenas related to yet another conspiracy theory pushed by President Trump—this time to try to re-write the history of Russian interference in the 2016 election to match the fantasy in President Trump’s head,” Senate Minority Leader Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.) said on Tuesday.