What is Lindsey Graham’s Problem?

Republicans are returning to Washington after an emergency meeting at Camp David. The timing, on the heels of the damning publication of “Fire and Fury”, leads me (no one of consequence), to believe Trump is in damage control mode. He claims the meeting was regarding other items on his to do list.

I believe they were strategizing, collaborating, and synchronizing their stories with hopes of avoiding indictment. It has become apparent that more people, than just those in Trump’s campaign, conspired with Russia against the United States.

Specifically—

What is Lindsey Graham’s problem?

It wasn’t long ago, he was one of the only Republicans willing to oppose Trump, but now the South Carolina Senator has joined Iowa Senator Chuck Grassley to refer Christopher Steele, the MI6 agent who penned the Trump-Putin dossier, to the Justice Department for investigation of potential false statements. They know the dossier contains no false statements.

This kill the messenger approach by congressional Republicans is simply an attempt at self preservation.

The short answer to my question—

What is Lindsey Graham’s problem? (this will be on the test) — It appears the entire GOP, including Lindsey Graham, have taken large sums of money from Russia, and they’re feeling the moist heat of Robert Mueller’s breath on the back of their necks.

According to the Palmer report—

Documents were recently uncovered by the Democratic Coalition revealing a list of Republican members of Congress who, during the 2016 election cycle, took significant amounts of money from a Ukrainian-born Russian oligarch, (with dual citizenship in both the U.S. and the U.K.), who has ties to Russian president Vladimir Putin.

Leonard Blavatnik, considered a philanthropist and one of the wealthiest men in the U.K., has a long history of benevolence with regards to the Republican Party.

The following is a list of names and sums donated in 2016, by Blavatnik, and accepted, according to the Dallas Morning News—

• Mitch McConnell, $2.5 million
• Marco Rubio, $1.5 million
• Scott Walker, $1.1 million
• Lindsey Graham, $800,000
• John Kasich, $250,000
• John McCain, $200,000

Blavatnik donated another $1 million to Trump’s Inaugural Committee, bringing the grand total to $7.35 million in contributions from Blavatnik alone for one election cycle.

I find it interesting that McConnell and Graham were not up for re-election in 2016, yet they accepted campaign donations, and this is somehow technically legal. Is this exchange of money behind Graham’s change of heart?

Blavatnik is not alone. There are many other Russian oligarchs, with ties to Putin, who have funneled money into the GOP.

The idea of investigating Steele defies logic for many reasons. Last week the New York Times reported the Steele dossier was not the catalyst for the FBI’s Trump-Russia investigation. It was “coffee boy” George Papadapoulos, and his loose lips that sank that ship, in vino veritas. While over imbibing in the company of an Australian diplomat last summer, Papadapoulos unknowingly offered the information to the Australian government. They contacted the FBI. The lesson here is— don’t drink and collude.

Devin Nunes is again perusing the idea of opening an investigation into Hillary Clinton. Now there’s an innovative idea in putting our tax dollars to use. Nunes also has ties to Russian money, as does Paul Ryan who appears to be everybody’s yes man.

The inmates are running the asylum. Politics has always had a varying level of corruption, but what is happening in Washington now is destroying the foundation this country was built on.

We need to clean house. We need to take the billionaires, the lobbyists, and (why do I have to say it?) the Russians, out of the equation. We need hand counted paper ballots, we need to end gerrymandering and we need to abolish the electoral college.

Nothing will change until we take action. This needs to be the end of the GOP.

Let that be Trump’s legacy.

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