Lindsey Graham fears convicting Trump could lead to impeachment of George Washington

Lindsey Graham said he fears that convicting Donald Trump could lead to the impeachment of former presidents such as George Washington as he blasted the ‘outrageous misconduct’ of Congress.

The Republican senator broke with the President last week, refusing to join a Trump-backed effort to contest Joe Biden‘s electoral college win as the vote was being certified by Congress in the hours after the MAGA riot.

‘All I can say is count me out, enough is enough,’ Graham told his Senate colleagues then. ‘When it’s over it is over.’

But he has since sided again with Trump, traveling on Air Force One with the President to Texas this week for a Border Wall speech, and speaking out against his impeachment.

Graham now claims that impeaching Trump could set a dangerous precedent which could lead to other former presidents also being convicted.

He told Sean Hannity on Fox News: ‘To my Republican colleagues, let’s stand up for the idea that post-presidential impeachments are bad for the presidency, bad for the country, and if we go along with it as Republicans, we will destroy the Republican Party. Over time we will destroy the presidency.

‘Under this theory, the radical left — if you can impeach a president after they are out of office, why don’t we impeach George Washington?

‘He owned slaves. Where does this stop?!’ 

Graham also criticized the motives of those wanting to impeach Trump, saying a conviction will lead to more unrest.

He said: ‘These actions, if they continue, will incite more violence.

‘Every time you ask President Trump to calm his people down, to reject violence, to move on, he has done it. How has he been met? I think outrageous misconduct by the Congress itself.’

His comments came hours after the House of Representatives made Trump the first ever president to be impeached twice.

Ten Republicans sided with the vote, charging the President with inciting an insurrection.

Some Republicans are rumored to be considering not attending the impeachment trial so they don’t have to cast a vote either way.

Graham refused to commit on whether he would partake but warned against the ‘unconstitutional attack’.

He added: ‘If you want to end the violence, end the impeachment.’