SC’s Graham defends Trump against charges, says defunding FBI and DOJ ‘not the right answer’

South Carolina U.S. Sen. Lindsey Graham says he will continue to support Donald Trump following his criminal indictment but said defunding the police or FBI, as the former president said in response to his criminal charges, is not the way to go.

At a news conference Wednesday, Graham, R-S.C., told reporters that Trump’s indictment will do nothing other than help the former president secure reelection in his bid for the presidency.

After pleading not guilty to 34 felony counts of falsifying business records, Trump took to his social media platform, Truth Social, urging Republican members of Congress to defund the U.S. Department of Justice and FBI “until they come to their senses,” adding that Democrats had “weaponized” law enforcement agencies.

Graham, a leader of Trump’s presidential campaign in South Carolina and a Trump ally, said Wednesday that while the charges against the former president are baseless, defunding the FBI isn’t the solution.

“As frustrated as (Trump) has a right to be for what the FBI has done, terrorism lurks out there, and taking your guard down for one moment could be very dangerous for the public,” Graham told reporters. “I understand his frustration, but defunding the police is not the right answer.”

Gov. Henry McMaster, another leader enlisted in helping Trump to secure the 2024 Republican primary in South Carolina, said that after four years as a U.S. attorney and eight years as attorney general, he’s never seen a prosecutor behave so outlandishly, referring to Alvin Bragg, the Manhattan district attorney responsible for bringing charges against Trump.

“I’ve never seen such outrageous conduct as that at this prosecutor,” said McMaster in a statement read by Graham. “All this does is shake the public’s confidence in our justice system.”

On Tuesday, while speaking with Fox News’ Sean Hannity, Graham urged Trump supporters to send money in support of Trump’s defense, though Trump touted that he has “a lot of cash” during a speech at his Florida Mar-a-Largo estate.

Graham defended his request Wednesday.

Trump “has spent millions of dollars defending against every kind of lawsuit on demand, all kinds of criminal investigations, and I think from a Republican point of view, that if you believe in President Trump, you should take some of the burden off of him” by donating money, Graham said. Critics are “trying to drain the guy dry,” he added.

Still, Graham maintains that Trump’s indictment will strengthen his reelection presidential campaign.

“From a campaign point of view, the actions of the New York Manhattan district attorney have enormously helped President Trump in South Carolina,” Graham said. “We see it in the polling and we see it in the giving.”