WASHINGTON -- Senate Judiciary Chairman Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., announced a resolution Thursday condemning the Democratic-run House for pursuing an "illegitimate impeachment inquiry" as partisan rancor continued to escalate over the Ukraine scandal.
Separately, the Justice Department has shifted its review of the Russia probe to a criminal investigation, according to people familiar with the matter.
The people who confirmed the criminal investigation were not authorized to discuss the matter publicly and spoke on condition of anonymity.
It is not clear what potential crimes are being investigated, but the designation as a formal criminal investigation gives prosecutors the ability to issue subpoenas, potentially empanel a grand jury and compel witnesses to give testimony and lodge federal criminal charges.
The Justice Department had previously considered it to be an administrative review, and Attorney General William Barr appointed John Durham, the U.S. attorney in Connecticut, to lead the inquiry into the origins of former special counsel Robert Mueller's probe into Russian interference in the 2016 election. It's not clear when Durham's inquiry shifted to a criminal investigation.
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Meanwhile, Graham's nonbinding resolution gives Senate Republicans a chance to show support for President Donald Trump as the president urges his GOP allies to fight harder for him.
Trump took to Twitter on Thursday to praise Republicans for being "tough, smart and understanding."
His tweet followed the storming by Republicans on Wednesday of the secure room where closed depositions are being held during the impeachment inquiry.
"Thank you to House Republicans for being tough, smart, and understanding in detail the greatest Witch Hunt in American History," Trump tweeted. "It has been going on since long before I even got Elected (the Insurance Policy!). A total Scam!"
Graham, in introducing his resolution, said the House process so far has been "a star-chamber-type inquiry" and accused Democrats of using it to damage Trump.
"If you can drive down a president's poll numbers by having proceedings where you selectively leak information, where the president who's the subject of all this is pretty much shut out, God help future presidents," Graham told reporters.
Republicans have asserted that House impeachment proceedings have been secretive and unfair, and have demanded that they be given more chances to question witnesses.
Senate Minority Leader Charles Schumer, D-N.Y., accused Republicans of hypocrisy by claiming they want an open process while the White House defies subpoenas, refuses to surrender documents and tries to block officials from testifying.
"Rather than stomp their feet in a fit of staged political theater, House Republicans -- all Republicans -- should join in getting all the facts," Schumer said.
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., is a leading co-sponsor of Graham's measure. Asked about a vote, McConnell said earlier Thursday that Republicans are "discussing the way forward on that."
Later Thursday, Graham said 46 of the Senate's 53 Republicans had co-sponsored the resolution. That included two of the four GOP senators expected to face the most competitive elections next years: Thom Tillis of North Carolina and Martha McSally of Arizona.
In the House, Minority Whip Steve Scalise, R-La., called the impeachment inquiry a "Soviet-style star chamber" Thursday and lashed out at House Intelligence Committee Chairman Adam Schiff, the California Democrat who is leading it.
"We've had enough of Adam Schiff running this Soviet-style star chamber, because only in the Soviet Union would you have a process where they are trying to impeach a duly elected president in secret, behind closed doors," Scalise said on SiriusXM's Breitbart News Daily.
Democrats are looking to make the proceedings public by mid-November as they build a case about Trump pressing Ukraine to investigate former Vice President Joe Biden and his son, Hunter Biden, while U.S. military aid to the country was being withheld.
Schiff and other Democrats have compared the process to that of a grand jury and said the private depositions are necessary so that witnesses don't coordinate testimony.
Democrats and Republicans are allowed to participate in the questioning.
Graham previewed his action earlier this week in a Fox News interview.
"This resolution puts the Senate on record condemning the House," he told host Sean Hannity. "Here's the point of the resolution: Any impeachment vote based on this process, to me, is illegitimate, is unconstitutional and should be dismissed in the Senate without a trial."
In the other chamber, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., on Thursday accused House Republicans of "covering up for a president who abuses his power."
In a tweet, Pelosi pointed to news coverage of a House bill passed Wednesday largely along party lines that seeks to provide additional protections of the country's elections from foreign interference.
Among other things, the bill would require candidates and political committees to notify the FBI if a foreign power offers campaign help. It also includes stricter rules for political advertisements on social media.
Republicans have argued that the bill raises concerns about free speech and is unenforceable.
"We took action to protect our elections from foreign interference," Pelosi wrote. "House Republicans, once again, voted against that -- choosing instead to continue covering up for a president who abuses his power. It's outrageous."
Information for this article was contributed by John Wagner and Felicia Sonmez of The Washington Post; and by Michael Balsamo and staff members of The Associated Press.
A Section on 10/25/2019