Lindsey Graham To Call Robert Mueller To Testify Before Senate Panel

President Donald Trump’s commutation of political consultant and longtime friend Roger Stone’s 40-month prison sentence has prompted Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-SC, to grant a wish of Democrats: To call the former Russia special counsel Robert Mueller to testify before the Senate Judiciary Committee chaired by Graham.

Mueller headed up a 22-month long investigation into Trump’s alleged collusion with Russian officials that was linked with the 2016 presidential election. The 448-page report, dubbed the Mueller Report, found no wrongdoing by Trump, but it did result in 34 indictments including former National Security Adviser Michael Flynn and Roger Stone.

The Mueller report also included instances of what was described as “possible obstructive behavior by Trump” that included attempts to get Mueller fired.

Stone was convicted on seven counts including witness tampering and lying to investigators. He was scheduled to begin serving his sentence Tuesday, July 14, before Trump intervened with last Friday’s commutation.

On Saturday, Mueller wrote in an op-ed published by the Washington Post that the flamboyant political operative (referring to Stone) was "prosecuted and convicted because he committed federal crimes." He added, "He remains a convicted felon, and rightly so.”

Sen. Graham’s decision is a change from last year when he rejected the same request in a letter written by Senate Democrats. The letter was over concerns that Trump's personal and business ties in Moscow and his campaign's efforts to obtain emails damaging to Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton were omitted in the Mueller report.

"We believe Robert Mueller would be best-suited to answer these and other questions, from both sides of the aisle, and we feel the Committee would benefit greatly from his testimony,” the 2019 letter read.

Graham tweeted Sunday, "Apparently Mr. Mueller is willing, and also capable, of defending the Mueller investigation through an op-ed in the Washington Post.”

In June, Graham seemed to be moving away from his stance that Mueller should not be called. He told Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif, during a Judiciary Committee meeting that it is "not an unreasonable request" to have somebody from the former special counsel's team come before the committee but that “I'm not so sure Mr. Mueller would be the best person.”

He later said, "As to Mr. Mueller: If you want to call him, I will, I would just ask you to think twice about that," CNN reported.

One voice skeptical of Sen. Graham’s change of heart is House Intelligence Committee Chairman Representative Adam Schiff, D-Calif, who was the lead prosecutor in the failed impeachment trial against Trump that was based largely on the Mueller report.

Schiff spoke to CNN's Wolf Blitzer on "The Situation Room” on Sunday evening and said, "I suspect all Lindsey Graham wants to do is continue his counter-factual, that is that Donald Trump was somehow the victim when Donald Trump was the one inviting Russians to help him get elected in the first place.”