Lindsey Graham is ‘mad as hell’ with the Trump Administration

U.S. Sen. Lindsey Graham says he’s “mad as hell.”

The question is, will he take it anymore? Graham criticized the actions of President Donald Trump’s administration Friday.

Graham voiced his displeasure in one of the most powerful ways a South Carolina Republican can. He compared it to former President Barack Obama and his administration.

Graham is fired up over the Trump Administration’s handling of two separate terror suspects.

On Friday, Graham wrote “I’ve moved from dumbfounded to mad as hell about the Trump Administration’s insistence on following the Obama Administration playbook to the letter when it comes to handling terror suspects.”

The terror suspect in question is Mustafa al-Imam, a militant in Libya accused of playing an instrumental role in the Benghazi attacks. Al-Imam was captured Oct. 29 by U.S. special forces in a Navy SEAL-led raid and brought to Washington for trial.

This comes a day after Graham said he was “dumbfounded as to why the Trump Administration still follows the Obama playbook when it comes to dealing with terror suspects.”

That was in reference to Sayfullo Saipov, who plowed into a crowd of pedestrians and bicyclists just blocks away from the World Trade Center on Oct. 31. At least eight people were killed in New York City’s deadliest terror attack since 9/11.

But Saipov won’t be handled as an enemy combatant. He was charged in a civilian federal court Wednesday.

Al-Imam also made a brief appearance in federal court Friday. And that didn’t sit well with Graham one bit.

“Putting one of the ringleaders of the attack on our consulate in Benghazi in Federal District Court – without first holding him as an enemy combatant – is exactly what Obama did,” Graham wrote. “We are missing valuable intelligence by not holding him as an enemy combatant.”

While Graham is confident about al-Imam’s role in the Benghazi attacks, the Justice Department is taking a more deliberate route. It has not specified how al-Imam was involved in the Sept. 11, 2012, attacks on the diplomatic compound.

Nevertheless, it hasn’t stopped Graham from getting upset. He’s calling for people’s jobs, and calling them names.

“President Trump should clean house and get rid of everyone in his Administration who thinks like this,” Graham wrote. “It’s as if Eric Holder and Loretta Lynch never left.”

On Wednesday, Graham accused the Obama Administration, led by former Attorney Generals Hoder and Lynch, “of criminalizing the War on Terror.”

Graham did not specifically name current Attorney General Jeff Sessions, a longtime colleague of Graham’s in the U.S. Senate.

Graham had called for Saipov and al-Imam to be held under the laws of war, without access to an attorney, so they could be questioned by U.S. intelligence.

“The Trump Administration missed an important opportunity to send a strong message to terrorists and make America safer,” Graham said. “This is a huge mistake. Very sad.”

This story was originally published November 3, 2017 at 9:49 PM.