Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Lindsey Graham (R-SC) on Sunday told Fox News's Maria Bartiromo he believed the Ukrainian whistleblower is part of the deep state.
"I consider any impeachment in the House that doesn't allow us to know who the whistleblower is to be invalid, because without the whistleblower complaint, we wouldn't be talking about any of this," Graham explained. "I also see the need for Hunter Biden to be called to adequately defend the president. And if you don't do those two things, it's a complete joke."
Graham cited reporter John Soloman's reporting, which revealed Burisma, the Ukrainian gas company Hunter Biden worked for, pressed the Obama administration to drop the corruption allegations.
"I think that the big deal is that Hunter Biden served on a board that was being investigated by the Ukrianian government," he said.
Graham referenced the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests that showed Hunter Biden's business partner and another Burisma board member meeting with Secretary of State John Kerry.
"All of a sudden the case goes away," Graham explained. "I think it's important that we found out what really did happen, regarding firing the foreign prosecutor, what was the conflict of interest Hunter Biden had."
The Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman made it clear he doesn't believe an impeachment case can be brought about fairly without knowing the whistleblower's identity and "having the ability to cross examine him about any biases they may have."
"So, if they don't call the whistleblower, this thing is dead on arrival in the Senate," Graham said.
Bartiromo reiterated rumors that have circled Washington, including that the whistleblower had connections to former Vice President Joe Biden and even suggested this person could have had connections to the start of the Russia probe.
"Well, if the whistleblower comes from the Brennan world, that would be pretty stunning, I think. If the whistleblower had a connection to a presidential candidate, that would be pretty stunning," he said. "...when we find out who the whistleblower is I'm confident we'll find out it is someone from the deep state. You're gonna find out they had interactions with [House Intelligence Committee Chairman Adam] Schiff. It's going to stink to high Heaven."