Senator Lindsey Graham (R-SC) defied Democrats on Tuesday by speaking out to say that Joe Biden is not “president-elect” until President Donald Trump concedes, or the states have certified results with all the pending court cases being dismissed.
The Wall Street Journal’s Lindsay Wise took to social media to say that Graham had told reporters that it is “now” time for Trump’s team to provide proof of voter fraud.
“Bottom line is you’re attacking the voting machines, you have to prove that, you can’t just say that. You know, there may be proof, I don’t know. But it’s kind of time now to show it in a court of law,” Graham said. “We are at the point now where recounts are going on and it’s now time to put it up.”
When asked when he would refer to Biden as the “president-elect,” which much of the media is already doing, Graham said this should only happen “when Trump concedes or the court cases have been dismissed and the states certified.”
“If there is no concession there is a contest. If there is a contest in court & the party loses, that’s the end of the contest. There is no way to overturn a election other than a court of law,” Graham continued.
GRAHAM: "We are at the point now where recounts are going on and it’s now time to put it up."
Q: What’s the standard in your mind for saying Biden is president-elect?
GRAHAM: "When Trump concedes or the court cases have been dismissed and the states certified." 2/4
— Lindsay Wise (@lindsaywise) November 17, 2020 [1]
Q. The electors don’t need to cast their votes to convince you?
GRAHAM: (Sigh)"…If there is no concession there is a contest. If there is a contest in court & the party loses, that’s the end of the contest. There is no way to overturn a election other than a court of law" 4/4
— Lindsay Wise (@lindsaywise) November 17, 2020 [2]
Graham went on to say that he has personally been in contact with election officials in both Arizona and Nevada.
Just followed up with Graham: he says he spoke to Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey and someone else in Nevada, *not* the Secretaries of State in AZ and NV.
— Igor Bobic (@igorbobic) November 17, 2020 [3]
Just followed up with Graham: he says he spoke to Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey and someone else in Nevada, *not* the Secretaries of State in AZ and NV.
— Igor Bobic (@igorbobic) November 17, 2020 [3]
Graham has long been standing by Trump, saying days after the election that Trump “should not concede.”
“To my Republican colleagues out there, we have to fight back, or we will accept our fate,” Graham said [4]. A few days later, he added, “We don’t need their permission to look into these allegations. We owe it to those who voted for President Trump and the country at large to test the system.”
Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger spoke out on Monday to accuse Graham of implying that he should “look hard and see how many ballots you could throw out” during the recount effort in his state.
“I want to be clear, you say Senator Graham wanted you to find ways to get rid of legally cast ballots. CNN asked him about these allegations,” CNN’s Wolf Blitzer said. “He denied them and said that’s ridiculous. His words, ‘that’s ridiculous.”
This piece was written by James Samson on November 17, 2020. It originally appeared in LifeZette [5] and is used by permission.
Read more at LifeZette:
OPINION: It’s Over. President Says Biden “Won.” [6]
Justice Alito Sounds An Alarm Over Biden And PC [7]
Lindsey Graham Hits Back After Dem Sen. Dianne Feinstein Demanded No More Hearings For Trump’s Judicial Nominees [8]