#LindseyGrahamResign Goes Viral After Senator Advises Don Jr. to Refuse Congressional Subpoena

After advising Donald Trump, Jr. to plead the Fifth Amendment after the president's son was subpoenaed by the Senate Intelligence Committee, Lindsey Graham became the target of an online campaign calling for his resignation. (Photo: Gage Skidmore/Flickr/cc)

#LindseyGrahamResign Goes Viral After Senator Advises Don Jr. to Refuse Congressional Subpoena

Trump Jr. was subpoenaed by the Senate Intelligence Committee to answer questions about his contacts with Russia

Tens of thousands of social media users joined a call for Sen. Lindsey Graham's resignation on Tuesday, after the South Carolina Republican publicly offered advice to Donald Trump Jr. about his recent congressional subpoena.

The president's eldest son was subpoenaed in April to testify before the Senate Intelligence Committee about his contacts with Russia during the 2016 election, after twice backing out of planned testimony before the committee.

The subpoena prompted Graham--one of President Donald Trump's closest allies--to tell Trump Jr. on Monday to refuse to answer the panel's questions.

"You just show up and plead the Fifth and it's over with," Graham told reporters, according toThe Washington Post.

Graham also appeared on "Fox News Sunday" to declare Congress's attempts to continue probing questions about Trump's 2016 campaign, its communications with Russia, and potential obstruction of justice by the president "worthless," and said Trump, Jr. should not respond to the subpoena.

"If I were Donald Trump Jr.'s lawyer I would tell him, 'You don't need to go back into this environment anymore, you've been there for hours and hours and hours,'" Graham said. "I would call it a day."

Trump Jr. declined to be interviewed by Special Counsel Robert Mueller's investigation team and has not testified publicly about his involvement with the Trump campaign.

The Democratic Coalition, which started the call for Graham's resignation, accused the senator of tampering with a witness and obstructing justice.

Mueller's report did not conclude that the Trump campaign worked with Russia to swing the 2016 election in Trump's favor, but also did not exonerate the president of intentionally trying to impede the special counsel's investigation. The report suggested that Congress should further investigate the Trump administration and campaign to determine any wrongdoing by the president and other officials.

Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) was among the critics who condemned Graham's statements, saying the comments suggested "that Donald Trump Jr. is above the law."

By Tuesday afternoon, according to the Democratic Coalition, more than 100,000 people had tweeted the hashtag #LindseyGrahamResign--pointing to a number of reasons that the senator is not fit to serve in the Senate.

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