Fox News "Hannity" - Transcript: Interview with Sen. Lindsey Graham

Interview

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Sean Hannity:
When we come back, Joe Biden angry at Senator Lindsey Graham looking into his son's shady business dealings and the quid pro quo. Senator Graham joins us next.

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Sean Hannity:
All right. Former Vice President Joe 30330 quid pro quo Joe Biden is clinging to the narrative that he is above any investigation. Even as he runs for president of the United States. Imagine if his name was Donald J. Trump. Take a look.

Joe Biden:
They're asking Lindsey Graham. They have him under their thumb right now. They know he knows if he comes out against Trump, he's got a real tough road for re-election, number one. I am disappointed and quite frankly I'm angered by the fact he knows me. He knows my son. He knows there's nothing to this. Trump is now essentially holding power over him that even the Ukrainians wouldn't yield to. The Ukrainians would not yield to "investigate Biden." There's nothing to investigate about Biden or his son.

Sean Hannity:
Actually, report's out. They're now investigating the whole Burisma thing. Anyway, here with reaction Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Lindsey Graham. Lindsey, I'm a pretty simple guy. Let me break it down easy. Joe's on tape. You're not getting a billion unless you fire the prosecutor. He was warned that prosecutor was investigating his son who was being paid millions and millions of dollars for zero experience. Now, maybe I'm making this too complicated. Isn't that what they accused Trump of and weren't able to prove all last week and why would he get a pass?

Laura Graham:
Pretty much. You know, as to Joe Biden, he's a fine man. I've known him for a very long time. But to those who say that the Biden connection to the Ukraine has been thoroughly looked at nothing could be further from the truth. When Adam Schiff stopped House Republicans from asking questions about the Biden connection, they shut him down in the House. They're not going to shut me down in the Senate. I like Joe Biden but here are the questions that need to be asked. Did Hunter Biden use his political influence to stop an investigation of the gas company he was serving as a board member on in the Ukraine, receiving $50,000 a month, run by the most -- one of the most corrupt people in the Ukraine? Why did the vice president, within a 10-day period, after the investigation was announced, call the president of the Ukraine? When he went to the Ukraine in March to meet with the president, about a week later, the prosecutor was fired, and the case was dropped. Hunter Biden reached out to the State Department after the investigation was announced, and his business partner met with John Kerry. We're not going to ignore all this. I hope there's no there or there, but I want the transcripts of the phone calls between Joe Biden and the president of the Ukraine after the investigation was announced against Burisma, when -- where Hunter Biden was serving --

Sean Hannity:
Hey, senator, you said you hope there's no there or there --

Lindsey Graham:
-- a subordinate where these are reasonable things to ask.

Sean Hannity:
Joe Biden --

Lindsey Graham:
Yeah.

Sean Hannity:
-- admitted it. He said, "You don't get the billion unless you fire the guy."

Lindsey Graham:
Well --

Sean Hannity:
We know the kid -- he admitted in GMA --

Lindsey Graham:
Well, but here's the point --

Sean Hannity:
-- "I have no experience."

Lindsey Graham:
-- it -- yeah --

Sean Hannity:
And then we also know that he went to --

Lindsey Graham:
Right.

Sean Hannity:
-- to the State Department representatives of Burisma Holdings to lobby the Obama Administration.

Lindsey Graham:
Right.

Sean Hannity:
And they said, "Hunter works for -- is on our board and everything."

Lindsey Graham:
Well, it's a little deeper than that. You had people on the ground in the Ukraine worried about the conflict of interest with Hunter Biden. Right after Joe Biden was given the Ukraine portfolio, Hunter Biden was hired by Burisma $50,000 a month for what? Obviously, for political influence, but was it an insurance policy to make sure the company would never be investigated? Here's what is disturbing about this. The day they announced the raid on the president's home, the investigation of the gas company, Hunter Biden reaches out to people at the State Department who used to work for Biden. Within a 10-day period, Joe Biden calls the president of the Ukraine three times. He actually goes to the Ukraine in March, and the prosecutor is fired a week later. It's one thing to say you're going to withhold money because the Ukraine is corrupt. It's another thing to withhold money unless they fire the prosecutor investigating the company where your son works. That's different, and that's what I want to know. I hope there's no there or there, but let's look at the transcripts and see what happened.

Sean Hannity:
Okay, so will hearsay or opinion witnesses be allowed in the Senate, should these Democrats, which I assume they probably will impeach in the House? Because I like what the President said, "Let's have a trial." I agree with him. I think it's a good idea. This way, people don't say, "Oh, you're covering it up."

Lindsey Graham:
Right. Well, if you have a trial, what are the rules of the trial? Here's a good rule to start with. The trial in the Senate should mirror trials all over America. Hearsay is not admitted, unless there's a valid exception in any trial in America. So, let's apply the federal rules of evidence to the trial in the Senate and let the chief justice of the United States rule on whether or not evidence is admissible. My believe is that 90 percent of the testimony being used by the House violates the hearsay rule, but let's let the chief judge make that -- justice make --

Sean Hannity:
Well, I can't see him being against that.

Lindsey Graham:
-- that decision, not me. The --

Sean Hannity:
The rules of evidence --

Lindsey Graham:
rules of the trial should ban hearsay.

Sean Hannity:
Rules of evidence are what they are.

Lindsey Graham:
Yeah.

Sean Hannity:
Let me ask you a final question. December 9th, we get the inspector general report. A lot of leaking about it saying, "Oh, it's not a big deal. Nobody's really in trouble except this low-level person." Don't we -- tell me which part of this is not true? Part one, we know multiple warnings went to the DOJ and FBI, that Christopher Steele hates Donald Trump, that it's not verified, that Hillary paid for it -- multiple warnings, yet they used it as the bulk of information to get the FISA warrant to go after Carter Page, who was just with us, and then back-door all things into Trump campaign, Trump transition, and Trump presidency. How is it anything other than premeditated fraud on a court?
Lindsey Graham:
Well, we'll soon hear from Horowitz as to what he found, but here's what I know for sure. The dossier, to this day, is unverified. It was paid for by a political party. The person who came up with the dossier --

Sean Hannity:
It's unverifiable.

Lindsey Graham:
-- hated Trump. They knew about it. Yeah, it's unverifiable, but the person still hated Trump. And here's the question for Horowitz, and the FBI, and the Department of Justice, "Why did you start verifying it or trying to verify it after you used it three times? Why didn't you try to verify it before you gave it to the court?" I hope you understand that, what they did, is used a document that's unverified, to this day, to get a warrant against an American citizen. They didn't even try to verify it until after they used it.

Sean Hannity:
All right, senator, thanks for what you're doing. Here we go. Two weeks from tonight, this thing is out.

Lindsey Graham:
[unintelligible]

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