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Russia Issues Arrest Warrant for Sen. Lindsey Graham Over Ukraine Remarks

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OPINION: This article may contain commentary which reflects the author's opinion.


South Carolina Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham is now subject to arrest according to a warrant issued over the weekend following remarks he made during a visit to Ukraine last week.

The Russian government has issued an arrest warrant for Graham after a video of him meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and some of his staff.

In the edited video, Graham noted that “the Russians are dying” and praised the U.S. military aid provided to Ukraine as “the best money we’ve ever spent.”

Although Graham’s remarks were seemingly made at different points during the conversation, the short video released by Ukraine’s presidential office merged them together, sparking outrage in Russia.

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Russian President Vladimir Putin’s spokesman, Dmitry Peskov, said on Sunday that “it’s hard to imagine a greater shame for the country than having such senators.”

The Investigative Committee, Russia’s leading criminal investigation agency, has initiated a criminal inquiry against Graham, and the Interior Ministry has subsequently issued an arrest warrant for him, as confirmed by their official record of wanted criminal suspects on Monday.

Graham is also one of 200 U.S. lawmakers Russia banned from entering the country last year, ABC News reported.

On Twitter, the South Carolina Republican responded by saying, “To know that my commitment to Ukraine has drawn the ire of Putin’s regime brings me immense joy.”

“I will continue to stand with and for Ukraine’s freedom until every Russian soldier is expelled from Ukrainian territory,” he tweeted. “I will wear the arrest warrant issued by Putin’s corrupt and immoral government as a Badge of Honor.”

In April, Graham drew the ire of Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene after he criticized the Georgia Republican over remarks she made regarding a Massachusetts Air National Guardsman who leaked highly classified intelligence on Ukraine and China.

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In an interview, Graham called her apparent praise for the leaker “irresponsible” and that unauthorized releases of sensitive military intelligence that may support a personal political view nonetheless “puts America in serious danger.”

“What they’re suggesting will destroy America’s ability to defend itself. That it’s OK to release classified information based on your political views. That the ends justify the means. If you’re a member of the military intelligence community and you disagree with American policy, and you think you’re going to be okay when it comes to leaking classified information, you’re going to go to jail. It’s one of the most irresponsible statements she could make,” Graham told  ABC’s This Week.

Graham proceeded to talk about how the leak had “compromised” the human resources involved in gathering intelligence and emphasized that the United States could not afford to have “a chaotic intelligence gathering system.”

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“There is no justification for this, and for any member of Congress to suggest it’s OK to leak classified information because you agree with the cause is terribly irresponsible and puts America in serious danger,” he added.

Earlier, Greene, a Georgia Republican, tweeted: “Jake Teixeira is white, male, christian, and antiwar. That makes him an enemy to the Biden regime. And he told the truth about troops being on the ground in Ukraine and a lot more. Ask yourself who is the real enemy? A young low level national guardsmen? Or the administration that is waging war in Ukraine, a non-NATO nation, against nuclear Russia without war powers?”

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