SC’s Lindsey Graham responds to indictment questions and affirms he’s in ‘good spot’ with Trump

U.S. Sen. Lindsey Graham said he did not expect to be mentioned in the Georgia indictment against former President Donald Trump, even though Graham had been subpoenaed in 2021 as part of the investigation into efforts to interfere with that state’s 2020 election results.

Graham told South Carolina reporters Thursday that “it’s over” in regard to any issues he’s dealt with since being subpoenaed to testify in front of a Georgia grand jury which investigated efforts to overturn the 2020 election results. Speaking before an event hosted by the S.C. Chamber of Commerce, Graham said he was “well treated, and fairly treated” when he was in the process of being subpoenaed, but his part was done.

After the 2020 election, in which Trump lost to now-President Joe Biden, Graham called Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger twice and asked him if there was a way to throw out that state’s mail-in ballots, which favored Biden, according to the subpoena, first reported by the Atlanta Journal-Constitution after the election.

This all occurred after Biden won Georgia by fewer than 12,000 votes. Soon after results were out, Trump declared the election was stolen and pressured state officials to block Biden’s win from being certified. He also urged Georgia lawmakers to summon a special session and filed lawsuits as well as presented bogus claims to the Georgia House and Senate.

Regarding his subpoena and the phone calls to Raffensperger, Graham reaffirmed Thursday that he voted to certify the election because he didn’t see any evidence of widespread fraud.

When asked about whether he regrets calling Raffensperger, Graham said “No, I’m glad I made them. I feel like I made an informed decision.”

However, he said the Georgia indictment of Trump and 18 other people is “very dangerous.”

Graham also affirmed his relationship with Trump, saying he’s in a “good spot” with the former president. In early July, Graham was booed at a Trump rally in Pickens when he got up to speak. Graham said he thinks he will be fine as far as support for the next election goes and that he is “producing results for the people of South Carolina.”

When asked by a reporter about whether he would like Trump to stop talking about the 2020 election, Graham said, “Yeah, but that’s not going to happen. I’d like to be taller but that’s not going to happen.”