An arrest warrant for U.S. Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., following his comments related to the fighting in Ukraine.
But Graham won’t have to keep an eye out for the FBI or the state police, and he’s very unlikely to surrender to the issuing authorities.
The arrest warrant was issued by Russia’s Interior Ministry — and Graham called it a “badge of honor.”
In an edited video of his meeting on Friday with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy that was released by Zelenskyy’s office, Graham, a Republican from South Carolina, noted that “the Russians are dying” in their unprovoked invasion.
He described the U.S. military assistance to the country as “the best money we’ve ever spent” because it has helped demolish the military capabilities of a hostile geopolitical rival.
Graham appeared to have made the remarks in different parts of the conversation, but the short video by Ukraine’s presidential office edited the conversation to put them next to each other, causing outrage in Russia.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov commented Sunday by saying that “it’s hard to imagine a greater shame for the country than having such senators.”
The Investigative Committee, the country’s top criminal investigation agency, has moved to open a criminal inquiry against Graham, and the Interior Ministry followed up by issuing a warrant for his arrest as indicated Monday by its official record of wanted criminal suspects.
Graham shot back that the warrant was a “badge of honor” and challenged the Kremlin officials to meet him at the Hague’s International Criminal Curts.
“I will wear the arrest warrant issued by Putin’s corrupt and immoral government as a badge of honor,” Graham said in a statement. “To know that my commitment to Ukraine has drawn the ire of Putin’s regime brings me immense joy. I will continue to stand with and for Ukraine’s freedom until every Russian soldier is expelled from Ukrainian territory.”
The South Carolina senator challenged his “Russian ‘friends’ who want to arrest and try me for calling out the Putin regime as being war criminals.”
“I will submit to the jurisdiction of the International Criminal Court if you do. Come and make your best case. See you in The Hague!” the Republican senator said.
He later tweeted —
Good news: While I don’t expect to be tried by Russia anytime soon, I found the services of a great lawyer who works cheap. Sen. Blumenthal, my good friend from Connecticut who has been a staunch supporter of Ukraine, has offered to be my lawyer.
Bad news: like every other…
— Lindsey Graham (@LindseyGrahamSC) May 29, 2023
The Horn editorial team and the Associated Press contributed to this article