Graham: ‘Good Idea’ to Have Hearings on Police Violence and Misconduct

On Thursday’s “Hugh Hewitt Show,” Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Lindsey Graham (R-SC) stated that having a Judiciary Committee hearing on the issue of police violence and misconduct would be “a good idea,” and characterized the death of George Floyd as “a man dying for no good reason.”

Host Hugh Hewitt asked, [relevant exchange begins around 9:30] “I’m wondering if there’s a role for the Judiciary Committee here. … I think a lot of African Americans have a legitimate claim to a hearing on the issue of police violence against African American men in these situations. What do you think, Sen. Graham?”

Graham responded, “You know, that’s not a bad idea at all, Hugh, as a matter of fact. I don’t want to interfere with the investigation of the actual incident in question, but to take a 30,000-foot view of things, why does this happen, how often is it, is it an aberration? The rule of law depends on honest, ethical cops and judges and prosecutors. If the cops are not honest and ethical, they don’t follow the rules, they don’t turn over Brady material, they use excessive force, then the rule of law deteriorates. And what you see on television, in my view, is just a man dying for no good reason. It’s a use of force beyond what the situation would bear. It’s hard to watch, and I just imagine how many people died without videos. So, Hugh, that’s actually a very good idea.”

He continued, “You know, they’re not equivalent, but you know, when you have people doctoring warrant documents, that’s taking the law into your own hands. When the cops have political biases, you see this in the Mueller investigation, it’s not good. It’s not healthy. It loses respect for the law. … [W]hen you get a bad cop, and you don’t come down hard, you erode trust. So, I think the president is right to have the federal government look into this incident, and I think your suggestion of having a hearing about where we are in 2020 is a good idea, and I’ll get on that.”

Graham added that Sen. Tim Scott (R-SC) would be a good person to have as part of the discussion.

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