Lindsey Graham critics want investigations, resignation of judiciary over electoral claims in Georgia

Senator Lindsey Graham (R-SC) was urged to step down as chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, while demands are heightened for investigations into allegations that he suggested Georgia’s secretary of state to issue legal ballots.

Brad Raffensperger stated in an interview with The Washington Post that the Republican of South Carolina asked if he could discard all ballots sent by mail from counties with higher fees for unmatched subscriptions.

The Post reported that Raffensperger was surprised to feel that Graham was suggesting that he consider ways to withdraw the ballots that were legally released.

Graham denied this characterization and insisted that he thought they had a “good conversation”.

Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington’s Executive Director Noah Bookbinder, in a statement on the allegations, said: “For the chairman of the Senate committee charged with overseeing our legal system to have allegedly suggested that an electoral officer dispense a large number of documents American voters’ ballots are terrible.

“Not only is it wrong for Senator Graham to apparently contemplate illegal behavior, but his suggestion undermines the integrity of our elections and the faith of the American people in our democracy.”

Bookbinder compared the alleged actions to electoral fraud, before urging Graham to step down from the Judiciary Committee.

“Under the guise of eradicating electoral fraud, it appears that Graham is suggesting to commit it. This is unacceptable, and Senator Graham must resign the presidency immediately,” he said.

Walter Shaub, a former director of the US Government’s Office of Ethics, said that even if Graham’s version of the appeal is a true account, it would still seem coercive – also suggesting that the senator should step down from the Judiciary Committee.

“Why is the chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee calling the Georgia Secretary of State to discuss the mechanics of an ongoing vote count? Such a call would be implicitly coercive at best, even without Graham’s supposed suggestion about rejecting it. legitimate votes, “he tweeted.

“Even if someone accepts Graham’s version of the story, the appeal is a scandal that should lead to his immediate resignation. The republic will not survive the presidents of Senate committees by calling in electoral officials from its own party to discuss vote counting before a final verdict. “

Committee chairman Lindsey Graham (R-SC) makes a statement after voting for the Judiciary Committee to move Judge Amy Coney Barrett’s appointment to the Supreme Court outside the committee and to the Senate for a full vote on October 22, 2020 in Washington He has faced calls to resign because of accusations that he discussed the possibility of voting with Georgia’s secretary of state.
Samuel Corum / Getty Images

In addition to these calls, there were also several demands for investigations into his alleged actions.

Kristen Clarke, chairman of the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights under the Act, told MSNBC that the charges were “deeply disturbing, incredibly disturbing”.

She said the Senate should open an ethics inquiry to determine whether the allegations are true and that the Justice Department should also investigate.

Norman Ornstein, a resident scholar at the American Enterprise Institute, also said the situation represented a “real test” for the Senate Ethics Committee.

“We have a real test for the Senate Ethics Committee, one that I hope they fail, because of Lindsey Graham’s apparent illegal and immoral pressure on the GA Secretary of State to cast legal votes,” he tweeted. “Worthy of expulsion, at least censorship.”