Feb 26 2015

Graham on Loretta Lynch's Nomination

Contact: Kevin Bishop (864) 250-1417 or Lorcan Connick (202) 224-5972

WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator Lindsey Graham (R-South Carolina) today issued the following statement on why he supported U.S. Attorney General nominee Loretta Lynch at today’s Senate Judiciary Committee hearing.

Feb 12 2015

Armed Services Committee Passes Legislation to Restrict Transfer of Guantanamo Detainees

Contact: Kevin Bishop (864) 250-1417 or Lorcan Connick (202) 224-5972

WASHINGTON - U.S. Senator Lindsey Graham (R-South Carolina) today voted in support of legislation that would restrict transfers of detainees from Guantanamo Bay in order to best protect Americans and our national security.

The legislation passed through the Senate Armed Services Committee by a vote of 14-12.

"In light of the Taliban 5 and other provocative releases made by the Obama Administration, it's only appropriate that we call a time-out," said Graham. "The Obama Administration seems more concerned about fulfilling their campaign promise to close Gitmo than protecting our national security. Now is not the time to be sending radical Islamic terror groups reinforcements from Gitmo."

Feb 11 2015

Graham on Closing the United States Embassy in Yemen

Contact: Kevin Bishop (864) 250-1417 or Lorcan Connick (202) 224-5972

WASHINGTON - U.S. Senator Lindsey Graham (R-South Carolina) today made this statement on news the United States is closing our embassy in Yemen and evacuating diplomats from the country.

Graham is the Chairman of the Department of State, Foreign Operations, and Related Programs Appropriations Subcommittee which has oversight over State Department operations.

Graham said:

"It's long been clear Yemen was not the ‘success story' that President Obama once claimed it to be. Today's news is an unfortunate, yet totally predictable, development which confirms that fact. Given the deteriorating security situation in Yemen, the State Department was left with no alternative but to withdraw American diplomats from the country and close our embassy.

"Yemen has been of strategic importance to the United States, and I fear these latest developments will create a vacuum that will ultimately benefit al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP). AQAP is a committed enemy of the United States and is believed to have been responsible for the recent terror attacks in Paris. AQAP continues to harbor a burning desire to attack the United States, and we must remain vigilant in protecting ourselves from them.

"Finally, our nation continues to be weakened by the Obama Administration's lack of an overall strategy to deal with the threat posed by radical Islam. Yemen is but the latest, yet I fear probably not the last, example of President Obama's failing foreign policy.

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Feb 09 2015

Graham on Ukraine and Defensive Weapons

Contact: Kevin Bishop (864) 250-1417 or Lorcan Connick (202) 224-5972

WASHINGTON - U.S. Senator Lindsey Graham (R-South Carolina) today made this statement on President Obama's reluctance to provide defensive weapons to Ukraine.

"President Obama's continual weakness in the face of aggression is making the world a more dangerous place. His reluctance to provide defensive weapons - which Ukraine desperately needs to protect themselves against Russian intervention - is another low point in a presidency which has many to choose from.

"In the Budapest Memorandum, Ukraine agreed to relinquish its nuclear arsenal while Russia, the United States, and the United Kingdom pledged to respect the independence and sovereignty of Ukraine's borders. But this latest episode once again shows that under President Obama's leadership it is better to be America's enemy than her friend. It's a sad fact that our enemies are seldom challenged while our friends are constantly undercut and abandoned.

"The Ukrainian people do not have time for President Obama's "strategic patience." It is time for President Obama to quit equivocating and quickly provide Ukraine the defensive weapons it needs."

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Jan 29 2015

Graham Backs Keystone XL Pipeline

Contact: Kevin Bishop (864) 250-1417 or Lorcan Connick (202) 224-5972

WASHINGTON -- U.S. Senator Lindsey Graham (R-South Carolina) today made this statement after voting in support of constructing the Keystone XL pipeline.

"I was proud to vote today in support of the Keystone XL pipeline.

"I was one of the first members of the United States Senate to visit the Canadian oil sands to see first-hand how this resource could benefit our country. The choice is simple - build the pipeline, create jobs in the United States, and lessen our dependence on oil from the Middle East. We need oil and Canada has the means to deliver it to us. There's nothing more common-sense than expanding our long-standing, mutually beneficial relationship with Canada.

"The fate of Keystone XL is in President Obama's hands. If he rejects the pipeline it will be one of the most short-sighted decisions in memory."

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Jan 27 2015

Graham, Grassley Demand Answers About Extradition of al-Qaeda Members to U.S. for Article III Trial

Contact: Kevin Bishop (864) 250-1417 or Lorcan Connick (202) 224-5972

WASHINGTON - U.S. Senators Lindsey Graham (R-South Carolina), chairman of the Judiciary Subcommittee on Crime and Terrorism, and Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa), chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, along with eight of their Republican colleagues on the Judiciary Committee, today sent this letter to current U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder and U.S. Attorney General nominee Loretta Lynch demanding answers about the current extradition of two Yemeni al-Qaeda members from Saudi Arabia to the United States for prosecution in an Article III civilian court.

Jan 21 2015

WASHINGTON - U.S. Senator Lindsey Graham (R-South Carolina) today made this statement on the State of the Union Address.