After nearly two years of investigation, reports increasingly indicate that the Robert Mueller-led special counsel probe is on the verge of wrapping up its work, indicting its latest victims, and submitting a final report on its findings. Meanwhile, speculation abounds as to what could be included in Mueller’s report.
Republican South Carolina Sen. Lindsey Graham was recently asked to share his expectations of the impending Mueller report in an interview with conservative pundit and radio host Hugh Hewitt, where the senator revealed that he really doesn’t expect to see anything of significance or any evidence of illegality in the report.
Lack of “legal head shot”
Hewitt asked Graham: “What do you expect in the Mueller report?”
“I really don’t know, but I believe if there’s been any collusion, sort of a legal head shot, Mueller would have taken it a long time ago,” Graham replied.
“No one’s being charged with a conspiracy,” the senator added. “Collusion is conspiracy. No one’s been charged with conspiring with anybody. So that makes me think there is no collusion.”
He went on: “And the other stuff is pretty much going to be a yawner. What we’re all looking for is did the Trump campaign work with the Russians? And based on what I see, I’m pretty confident the answer is going to be no.”
Deafening silence
Sen. Graham made a valid point in that, were Mueller to have solid evidence linking the 2016 campaign of then-candidate Trump to the Russian government, it most likely would have been revealed by now in previous legal filings, if not leaked outright to the media.
But, as Graham noted, nothing of that sort has been seen thus far. While it is possible that Mueller could be waiting to reveal such evidence of collusion in a final report, it is difficult to believe that such explosive information could be kept secret until then.
Impressive achievements
Prior to the brief remarks on the Mueller investigation, Hewitt and Graham spent a bulk of the interview speaking about the senator’s efforts as chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee to shepherd President Donald Trump’s conservative-leaning judicial nominees through the confirmation process, arguably one of the most consequential success stories of his presidency.
Speaking of successes, both Hewitt and Graham discussed how they had once counted themselves as opposition to Trump, but had since come around as supporters due to his policy achievements, with Graham even suggesting that Trump’s recent speech against socialism in Venezuela was “his Reagan moment.”
“Venezuela. And his destroying the caliphate, getting Rocket Man to the table, breaking the Iranian agreement in two, rebuilding the military, putting terrorism on the run throughout the world, in my view, I am very pleased,” Graham said in praise of Trump.
“He has been a very, very good president, domestically and internationally,” the senator added. “We’re strong again, we’re prosperous again. He’s appointing great judges. You can’t ask for a better judicial pick than he’s chosen. And I’m all in.”