South Carolina Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham floated the possibility of impeachment calls if the Obama administration releases more Guantanamo Bay prisoners without congressional approval, according to The Hill.
“It’s going to be impossible for them to flow prisoners out of Gitmo now without a huge backlash,” Graham said. “There will be people on our side calling for his impeachment if he did that.”
Graham has been a vocal critic, among a chorus of frustration from lawmakers, over the controversial Taliban prisoner swap for Bowe Bergdahl.
In addition to their concerns surrounding negotiations with terrorists, lawmakers have voice outrage at the fact that the Obama administration failed to give Congress the legally required notification 30 days prior to the release of the five high-level Taliban detainees from Guantanamo.
Some Republicans have speculated that the Obama administration made the swap because the president is looking to close Guantanamo.
“I think they seized a moment here to get rid of five hard-core guys and their goal is to empty that jail, Graham told reporters Wednesday. “My goal is to keep them in jail when appropriate.”
According to The Hill, Graham said he has added a measure to the defense authorization bill to require a vote on closing Guantanamo.
Charlie Spiering contributed to this report.
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