Lindsey Graham Vows to Hold Hearings Over Alleged DOJ 'Coup' Against Trump

WASHINGTON – Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) says he's willing to issue subpoenas if that what it takes to get to the bottom of what went on inside the FBI following the firing of former Director James Comey.

 "I promise your viewers the following: We will have a hearing about who is telling the truth, what actually happened," Graham told CBS' "Face the Nation." 

In his first sit-down interview since being fired from the FBI, former acting FBI Director Andrew McCabe told CBS' "60 Minutes" that Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein was actively seeking ways to oust President Donald Trump from office. 

"The discussion of the 25th Amendment was simply Rod raised the issue and discussed it with me in the context of thinking about how many other Cabinet officials might support such an effort," said McCabe.  

McCabe also stated Rosenstein suggested wearing a wire during his meetings with Mr. Trump. 

"He said, 'I never get searched when I go into the White House; I could easily wear a recording device. They wouldn't know it was there,'" recalled McCabe.  

McCabe says things were tense during that time, and Rosenstein was under pressure from the president to make public statements with which he didn't agree. 

McCabe, who is releasing a book titled "The Threat: How the FBI Protects America in the Age of Terror and Trump", says the Justice Department had good reason to be suspicious. 

"If the president committed obstruction of justice, fired the director of the FBI to negatively impact or to shut down our investigation of Russia's malign activity – you have to ask yourself, why would a president of the United States do that?" he said.    

President Trump reacted to the interview via Twitter by calling McCabe "a disgrace."

"Disgraced FBI Acting Director Andrew McCabe pretends to be a 'poor little Angel' when in fact he was a big part of the Crooked Hillary Scandal & the Russia Hoax - a puppet for Leakin' James Comey. I.G. report on McCabe was devastating. Part of 'insurance policy' in case I won...." the president tweeted last week.

Meanwhile, Senate Judiciary Committee member Chris Coons (D-DE) agrees with Sen. Graham that an investigation is warranted – but is cautious.

"I don't think that this, frankly, rises to the level of some deep state conspiracy or a serious attempt at what Sen. Graham called an administrative coup. I suspect that once this is fully discussed, it will be clear that this was a brief or passing conversation that's been taken out of context. But it does deserve scrutiny," said Coons.  

Graham says McCabe's statements should be carefully assessed. 

"I know he is selling a book and we may need to take with a grain of salt what Mr. McCabe is telling us, but he went on national television and made an accusation that floors me," Graham said. 

The Department of Justice called McCabe's account "inaccurate and factually incorrect," and Rosenstein denies taking part in extended conversations about the 25th Amendment.