Sen. Lindsey Graham on Friday criticized a report that a Georgia grand jury recommended indicting him, saying he was just doing his job and the law was being “weaponized.”
Graham has repeatedly argued that as a member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, he was interested in cases of possible voter fraud, which is why he reached out to officials in Georgia and other states after the 2020 election.
At the time, Donald Trump falsely claimed that he had been the victim of electoral fraud. Graham is a staunch Trump supporter.
“We cannot criminalize senators for doing their job, when they have a constitutional obligation to fulfill.” “It would be irresponsible, in my opinion, as chairman of the committee, not to find out what happened,” he said WYFF news in South Carolina, where he spoke with reporters in his home state.
Sen. Lindsey Graham defended himself against reports that a Georgia grand jury was planning to indict him, saying he was only investigating allegations of voter fraud
Graham echoed Trump’s argument that the government was “weaponized” against people.
“I’m very worried about the country right now.” I was the chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee. This election was challenged in courts and in several states. I had to explain my voice to the people of South Carolina. I had to decide whether or not to hold a hearing on the allegations in Georgia and elsewhere. “I’ve called several states, including Georgia,” he said.
“Many people in this country believe that the law has become a political weapon.” “We will see what happens in these cases,” he noted.
The Fulton County grand jury recommended indictments against Graham, the Republican senator from South Carolina, in the Georgia election case, new court records showed Friday.
Graham said he had not heard from any Georgian officials and learned of the grand jury’s recommendation from television.
“I was totally surprised,” he remarked.
“We’re opening Pandora’s box,” Graham said. “I think the system in this country is falling apart and we have to be careful not to use the legal system as a political tool.”
Graham had called Georgia Foreign Secretary Brad Raffensperger in the weeks following the 2020 election.
Raffensperger said he interpreted the question about whether he could reject certain absentee votes as a suggestion to reject legally cast votes.
But Graham said Friday, “I’ve asked him questions about the mail-in voting process. “I’ve never asked him to set aside ballots or anything else.”
“After the conversation, I decided it was best for me to vote to certify the election because I didn’t have enough confidence to overturn it,” he said.
“But the phone call I had with him was from my office in Washington while my staff was there,” he noted.
Lindsey Graham is a staunch Trump supporter, seen above with then-President Donald Trump in South Carolina in January 2023
Graham noted that on Jan. 6, the day of the Capitol riot, he voted to confirm Joe Biden’s victory in the Electoral College. As a senator, he had to vote to approve the results of each state’s election.
“I voted to confirm the election. Claiming I’m part of a grand scheme to overturn the election makes no sense given what I’ve done. It shows more than anything where we are. It’s me today. It could be someone else tomorrow.’
“I’m comfortable with my vote in support of the election.” I’m comfortable with the questions I asked. At the end of the day I did my job. And the day this is criminalized is very bad for the country,” he added.
In newly released court documents, Georgia jurors also recommended charges against Michael Flynn, who served as Trump’s national security adviser, and Georgia’s two former Republican senators, David Perdue and Kelly Loeffler.
According to the report, Trump’s adviser Boris Epshteyn and lawyers Lin Wood and Cleta Mitchell were also named.
It is unclear why none of them have been charged and what charges they may have faced.
The original indictment against Trump and 18 other co-defendants included details of 30 “unindicted co-conspirators” – people who Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis accuses of participating in the criminal conspiracy to overturn the 2020 election.
Graham said he still supports Trump for president.
“I stand with President Trump.” I proudly support him. “He may be a few times but I thought he would be a good president,” he said.
“I won’t let that stop me from standing up for him and working with him.”
Graham refused to testify before the Georgia grand jury and was eventually ordered to do so by the Supreme Court.
The grand jury heard from about 75 witnesses for seven months before completing a report in December with recommendations for Willis on allegations related to attempts to overturn the 2020 presidential election.
The special grand jury did not have the authority to indict, but Willis used the evidence collected to submit an indictment to a regular grand jury.
Here’s who else the grand jury recommended for indictment:
DAVID PERDUE and KELLY LÖFFLER
David Perdue
Kelly Loeffler
Perdue ran for re-election to the Senate in a January 2021 special election.
Trump campaigned for him, but also falsely claimed that he won the presidential election and was a victim of voter fraud.
Perdue personally called on Georgia Governor Brian Kemp to call a special session of the legislature to support Trump in his bid to overturn the election.
Loeffler was at that meeting.
In January 2021 she was in a runoff election, which she ultimately lost.
Trump also stood up for them.
The loss of those two seats gave the Democrats control of the Senate.
MICHAEL FLYNN
Like Graham, Flynn was forced to testify before the grand jury.
Michael Flynn
In mid-December 2020, Flynn told a right-wing news station that Trump could “take military capabilities” and put them in swing states and “basically run a new election in any of those states.”
Flynn also met at the White House on December 18, 2020 with Trump, attorney Sidney Powell and others associated with the Trump campaign in a meeting that “focused on issues such as the declaration of martial law, the confiscation of voting machines and the appointment of Powell as special counsel” focused “to investigate the 2020 election,” Willis wrote in her document, calling on Flynn to testify.
And he attended meetings at the home of conservative attorney Lin Wood in South Carolina in November 2020. Wood also testified before the grand jury. He had been looking for ways to influence the Georgia election results.
BORIS EPSHTEYN
Boris Epshtyn
Boris Epshteyn also testified before the grand jury.
He served as Trump’s attorney and the request for his testimony said he “has unique knowledge of the logistics, planning and execution of the Trump campaign’s efforts to provide false vote certifications to former Vice President Michael Pence and others.” .
CLETA MITCHELL
Cleta Mitchell
Cleta Mitchell advised Trump in a phone call with Georgia state officials after the 2020 election in which he urged them to find evidence that could overturn the state’s results.
Fulton County Superior Court Judge Robert McBurney ordered partial release of the report in February but declined to immediately release the panel’s recommendations on who should and should not be prosecuted. The judge said at the time that he wanted to protect people’s due process rights.
McBurney said in a new order filed Aug. 28 that due process concerns were moot because a regular grand jury indicted Trump and 18 others under the state’s anti-crime law. All have pleaded not guilty.
Parts of the report previously released in February included its introduction and conclusion, as well as a section in which jurors expressed concerns that one or more witnesses may have lied under oath and urged prosecutors to file perjury charges. The chairman of the panel said in press interviews that the special jury had recommended that numerous people be indicted.
Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis
The newly released court documents on Friday also mention jurors’ concerns that they could be lied to: “A majority of the grand jury believes that one or more witnesses who testified before it may have committed perjury.” “The Grand Jury recommends that the District Attorney seek appropriate charges for such crimes where there is compelling evidence.”