Senate will look into McCabe’s 25th Amendment claim
WASHINGTON — Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Lindsey Graham said Sunday that his panel will investigate former acting FBI director Andrew McCabe’s claim that Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein raised the possibility of ousting President Donald Trump through the 25th Amendment, calling the statement “beyond stunning.”
Graham, R-S.C., was re- sponding to comments made by McCabe in an interview with CBS News’ “60 Minutes.”
“There’s an allegation by the acting FBI director at the time that the deputy attorney general was basically trying to do an administrative coup, take the president down (through) the 25th Amendment process,” Graham said on CBS’ “Face the Nation.” “The deputy attorney general denies it. I promise your viewers the following — that we will have a hearing about who’s telling the truth, what actually happened.”
He added that he will subpoena McCabe and Rosenstein if necessary.
On “60 Minutes,” McCabe said Rosenstein raised the idea of using the 25th Amendment to remove Trump out of concern about the president’s “capacity and about his intent at that point in time.”
Rosenstein was “counting votes or possible votes” among Cabinet members on whether to oust Trump, McCabe told CBS’ Scott Pelley.
The 25th Amendment establishes a process for the Cabinet to force the president’s removal if he is unable to perform his duties.
McCabe’s spokeswoman said in a statement Friday that he did not participate in any “extended discussions” about using the 25th Amendment, nor was he aware of any.
Rosenstein has disputed previous reports describing allegations by McCabe that he had discussed the topic. The Justice Department again pushed back in a statement late last week.
In Sunday’s interview, Graham described the issue as one of national concern.
McCabe “went on national television and he made an accusation that floors me. ... We’re going to find out what happened here, and the only way I know to find out is to call the people in under oath and find out, through questioning, who’s telling the truth, because the underlying accusation is beyond stunning,” he said.