For Trump’s Backers in Congress, ‘Devil Terms’ Help Rally Voters
For some of Trump’s most vocal supporters in Congress, such as Lindsey Graham of South Carolina, even a brief flirtation with an “open season” against the president’s enemies is a cause for celebration.
The prospect of an “open season” — where federal investigators can use their national security tools and subpoena witnesses to pursue investigations into federal criminal statutes — is one of the most potent tools Republicans have to fight the president.
It’s also one that Trump has expressed a wish for.
In recent months, Trump has made clear he would like to see the FBI probe into his campaign’s Russian contacts expand to include the now-shuttered Trump University — and Graham is no different.
In a recent interview with NBC News, Graham said, “It would not surprise me if there is an open season” on Trump.
It would not surprise him. To be clear, it would not surprise him if nothing were found, and that is the case should there be an open season. But the idea that it could be open season is a different matter.
Graham is one of the most vocal defenders of Trump’s presidency and his presidency’s most influential supporters — which is also why he called on the Obama administration last year to appoint a special prosecutor to investigate the president.
Graham and other Trump supporters in Congress, like South Carolina Rep. Trey Gowdy, have been frustrated by the FBI’s inability to go after Hillary Clinton for her emails. They want the FBI to go after Trump’s other adversaries.
According to Graham, FBI Director James B. Comey’s letter to Congress on the Clinton investigation is the first “wake up call” for the White House.
“He is saying, ‘We will do what is needed,’ but I want to believe he is going to be more aggressive,” Graham told NBC News last week.