Fired FBI Director James Comey's written statement vindicated President Donald Trump, and it's not likely the special prosecutor in the Russia collusion case will pursue obstruction of justice charges, Sen. Lindsey Graham said Thursday.
"In the statement, Comey said the president is not a target or subject to an investigation, counterintelligence, criminal, or otherwise, regarding Russian collusion as of this moment," the South Carolina Republican told the "CBS This Morning" program.
"Something may happen later, but as of right now, this moment, the president is not under investigation for colluding with Russia."
In addition, he said, unless former FBI Director Robert Mueller, the special prosecutor in the Russia collusion investigation, is a "complete idiot, which he is not," he has concluded there is no obstruction of justice case involved with Trump.
"If he had concluded otherwise, Comey would not testify," said Graham. "You wouldn't let your chief [witness] go through this process if you really believed he had a case to prosecute . . . to think otherwise really is silly.
"And at the end of the day, Comey's actions tend to suggest that he didn't believe the president committed a crime."
Comey, in his written statement, said Trump told him that he needs his loyalty, and Graham said that was inappropriate, but then again, "half of what Trump does is not okay."
"If you try to convict him for being a bull in a China shop, rude and crude, you would win," said Graham. "A lot of the stuff troubles me, but it's not a crime."
He also said he does believe Trump was trying to help former national security adviser Michael Flynn when he asked Comey about the case, as "he had been punished enough."
However, Comey testified under oath on May 3, before he was fired, and did not mention interference by anyone, but "now that he's fired, he has a different story to tell. But here's the deal . . . but the story described by Comey is disturbing. It was inappropriate by the president to put him in this situation."
Graham also said he does not believe Trump is colluding with Russia, and he believes there has been a weak and naive response to Russia about the election.
"He seems to have a view of [Russian President Vladimir] Putin different from everybody else in Washington and that really bothers me," said Graham. "Let me tell you, there's no collusion and no obstruction."
Sandy Fitzgerald ✉
Sandy Fitzgerald has more than three decades in journalism and serves as a general assignment writer for Newsmax covering news, media, and politics.
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