Lindsey Graham says Putin is a war criminal, appears to call for his assassination

Senator Lindsey Graham (R-NC) has publicly criticized Valdimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine this week, calling Putin a war criminal, and separately hinted that someone in Russia should assassinate the Kremlin leader.

At a press conference on Wednesday, Graham called on the international community to unite in trying Vladimir Putin as a war criminal and have him tried in court. Graham urged the US Congress to “pursue war crimes allegations against Vladimir Putin and his military commanders” in international courts like the International Criminal Court. 

On Friday morning, Graham and a group of several other Senators introduced a bill that would encourage the United States government and other world governments to condemn Putin’s actions in Ukraine and hold him accountable for human rights abuses.

In addition, Graham drew some backlash this week when he appeared to suggest on Twitter that Putin should be assassinated. “Is there a Brutus in Russia? Is there a more successful Colonel Stauffenberg in the Russian military?” he wrote. “The only way this ends is for somebody in Russia to take this guy out. You would be doing your country – and the world – a great service.” 

Politicians from both sides of the aisle criticized Graham for the Tweet. When asked about Graham’s comments at a White House press briefing, Press Secretary Jen Psaki replied, “That is not the position of the United States government and certainly not a statement you’d hear come from the mouth of anybody working in this administration.”