Sen. Lindsey Graham: Trump Will Have 'Holy Hell To Pay' If He Fires Attorney General

WASHINGTON, DC — Sen. Lindsey Graham said on CNN Thursday that there would be "holy hell to pay" if President Trump fires Attorney General Jeff Sessions, in light of recent comments from the White House disparaging the head of the Department of Justice.

And if Trump tries to go after Special Counsel Robert Mueller, who is leading the Russia investigation, without good reason, it "could be the beginning of the end of the Trump presidency," the South Carolina Republican said. (For more information on this and other political stories, subscribe to the White House Patch to receive daily newsletters and breaking news alerts.)

Graham also said that he's working on legislation that would provide judicial oversight for any attempt to fire the special counsel.

"Jeff Sessions was the most solid supporter of Donald Trump; he's a rock-solid conservative," Graham said. "This effort to basically marginalize and humiliate the attorney general is not going well in the Senate. I don't think it's going well in the conservative world."

He added: "I hope it stops. I am 100 percent behind Jeff Sessions. The chairman of the Judiciary Committee sent a pretty chilling tweet yesterday: There will be no confirmation hearing for a new attorney general in 2017."

Trump's derision for Session came on full display in his recent interview with the New York Times when the president said that he never would have hired Sessions had he known the attorney general was going to recuse himself from the Russia investigation. Trump later tweeted out that Sessions was "beleaguered" and wasn't doing enough to target Hillary Clinton. On Tuesday, Trump said at a press conference, "I am very disappointed with the attorney general, but we will see what happens.”

Many lawmakers on both sides of the aisle have chafed at Trump's criticism of the attorney general, which many suspect could be part of an attempt to undermine the Russia investigation.

"If you believe Jeff Sessions should be fired, use the power you have and accept the consequences," Graham said of the president.

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