Lindsey Graham Had Doubts About Trumps Big Election Didn’t Lie Before Jan. 6

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With the immediate results of the 2020 election, the results seem obvious: Joe Biden won, thanks in small part to the narrow blue margins in Arizona and Georgia. But for many Donald Trump supporters, the historic fraud has taken place. These beliefs, untrue, resulted in a Republican -led pressure campaign against state figures such as Georgia secretary of state Brad Raffensperger, who told The Washington Post at the time he heard from members of his own party who seemed to indicate that he might somehow produce a different election result.

Leading them was South Carolina senator Lindsey Graham. According to Raffensperger, Grahamwho led the Senate Judiciary Committee on the timed law matching Georgias ’signature for ballots on a call, and asked if Raffensperger had the power to throw all ballots in the mail in the provinces. found that there was a higher rate of mismatched signatures, per The Washington Post Raffensperger later told CNN, It’s just an implication of, Look carefully and see how many ballots you can throw. (Graham countered that he was calling Raffensperger to find out how you could verify [voting] signature. I did not suggest that he should change the votes.)

This November. A month later, Graham is still carrying election misinformation to Fox News. He will not correct the record until Jan. 6, 2021, after Trump supporters rushed to the U.S. Capitol. But according to an account with Bob Woodward and Robert Costas ’upcoming book, Peril, carried by the Post, Graham was hesitant even before that. At a meeting Jan. 2 in the West Wing with Trump attorney Rudy Giuliani, he poured cold water on Giulianis ’promises to prove election fraud once and for all. Give me some names, he said, according to Woodward and Costa. You have to write it down. You have to show me the proof.

On Jan. 4, Giuliani responded by offering several memos, including one titled Voting Irregularities, Impossibilities, and Illegalities in the 2020 General Election, which Graham forwarded to the Committee’s attorney. Senate Judiciary Le Holmes for the study. According to the Post:

This is impossible for [Holmes] to say exactly what kind of notes were used to conduct the analysis, with no proven conclusion, in his view. In more sensational claims, such as ballots from the deceased, Holmes thought it was more likely, based on Giulianis ’own evidence, that some people voted and then died, according to the book. He is equally unconvinced with theories about people voting twice, invalid ballot applications not being available, and fraudulent ballots being thrown from vacancies or no addresses yet. Holmes could not find public records that would allow anyone to reach these conclusions, according to the Peril account.

Ultimately, Holmes finds laziness, the arrogant tone of certainty, and the inconsistencies disqualifying, per Woodward and Costa. Graham shared his perspective, privately mocking Giulianis ’arguments as a third -grade level. (A spokesperson for Graham declined to comment to the Post on the episode.)

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