Defense

Rubio: Impeachment talk not the right approach

 

Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) said Wednesday it’s not the “right approach” to warn President Obama about impeachment following the release of Guantánamo prisoners without congressional notice.

Responding to comments made by Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.), Rubio said, “to be honest with you, I’m not sure there’s many people here that are focused on that right now.”

{mosads}”Well, I’m not, at this point, calling for impeachment,” Rubio said on CNN. “This president has two years left in his term. We hope they pass quickly, that he will — that we can somehow have a majority here in the Senate so we can limit the amount of damage he’s doing to our economy and to our national security.”

Rubio and others have blasted the administration for the release of five high-ranking Taliban prisoners from Guantánamo Bay, Cuba, to Qatar in exchange for the return of Army Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl, saying the release could harm national security. 

On top of that, they say the administration made the trade without giving Congress proper warning required by law. 

On Wednesday, Graham warned that some Republicans would be calling for impeachment if the president attempted to unilaterally release other prisoners. Closing the prison has long been a priority for Obama. 

“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.”