The American Spectator

Bill Clinton . While campaigning up in New Hampshire, Graham told supporters that President Bush’s use of British intelligence to buttress his own administration’s intelligence on Iraq’s nuclear capabilities — because that is exactly what Bush and his team did as Graham knows, so that must be what he is talking about, right, Senator? — were transgressions that “warrant [Bush’s] impeachment.” /p>

Graham later backpedaled and said he was not calling for Bush to be impeached, because impeachment wasn’t an issue he as a senator could influence, as the process begins in the House.

Graham’s comments are raising some serious questions about his position on the joint congressional intelligence committee looking into September 11, as well as the position he held on the Senate Intelligence Committee prior to the 2002 elections. In both capacities, he and some of his staff have been privy to much of the inside information related to the U.S.’s war on terrorism and Iraq.

For example, on the debate over Iraq’s nuclear weapon capabilities, Republican Senate staffers say that despite Graham’s protestations and statements on the campaign trail that Bush and his team have been lying about that capacity, Graham has heard testimony and seen intelligence over the past five years that confirms Iraq’s ability or desire to obtain nuclear materials and eventually to use nuclear weapons.

Also, Republicans on the Hill have been saying for months that Graham and his staff were leaking investigative data from the joint 9/11 committee, which is due to release its report sometime this week.

“Graham knows he’s out there lying about this stuff. He knows the truth and he’s not being forthright about it,” says a Republican Senate leadership staffer. “We warned the White House about this kind of thing happening several months ago, but they didn’t take it seriously. Now look at what they have on their hands. A ranking senator running against them who can spout off on anything he wants to.”

White House staffers argue that it would be helpful if Republicans on the Hill were a bit more proactive in shooting such inaccurate information down. “Look at Porter Goss over on the House side,” says a White House staffer about the joint 9/11 committee’s co-chairman. “Last week he held a press conference and could have put a lot of this talk to rest or at least given reporters some strong language to counter the Democrats. Instead he just walked away.”

Such infighting has led some Republicans to call for some kind of summit inside the party leadership at both ends of Pennsylvania Avenue within the next month to help focus the party on what is shaping up to be a highly divisive fall political season.