Lindsey Graham tries to defend himself from alleged election-fixing scandal as backlash grows

On Tuesday morning, Sen. Lindsey Graham defended himself from the damning allegations that he had personally tried to pressure Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger into tossing legal ballots. Claiming he was just asking whether or not the “checks and balances” for mail-in votes were “good enough,” the South Carolina Senator desperately tried to do damage control in response to the growing public outrage.

Georgia Sec. of State Brad Raffensperger says Republicans like Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) are pressuring him to toss legal ballots.

Graham just responded, saying he spoke to Raffensperger about whether the "checks and balances" for mail-in voting were "good enough." pic.twitter.com/mjvou0QlQw

— The Recount (@therecount) November 17, 2020

If Mr. Raffensperger’s admissions to CNN’s Wolf Blitzer are to be believed, Graham has emerged from his highly contested re-election battle even more determined to perform as Donald Trump’s lickspittle in the Senate.

Last night, Raffensperger told Wolf Blitzer that “[Graham] asked if the ballots could be matched back to the voters…And then he, I got the sense it implied that then you could throw those out for any, if you look at the counties with the highest frequent error of signatures. So that’s the impression that I got…It was just an implication of, ‘Look hard and see how many ballots you could throw out.'”

Perhaps fed up with the assumption by his fellow Republicans that he is willing to throw his integrity and the law in the trash on behalf of Donald Trump, Raffensperger became one of the most prominent Republican officials to push back against Trump and his minions’ clumsy attempts to steal the election.

Georgia Sec. of State Brad Raffensperger is doing something very few Republican officials did during the Trump Era. He publicly called out Trump's lies, resisted pressure to abuse his powers, and stood up for the rule of law. Here's what he told @wolfblitzer about the GA recount. pic.twitter.com/YVZDzvgdtV

— Marshall Cohen (@MarshallCohen) November 17, 2020

It is appalling that Lindsey Graham would try to abuse his position in order to have legal votes thrown out on behalf of the second-worst president in our nation’s history, and if it is confirmed, should lead to Graham’s impeachment — but won’t, of course, since Mitch McConnell and his Republican cronies have dedicated their careers to making it harder for people to vote and have long ago discarded any integrity or respect for the rule of law in the trash in their fanatical quest for power.

Democrats were quick to condemn Graham — and point the finger at the guiltiest party of all, Donald Trump, who still refuses to concede the election despite all evidence pointing to his loss.

This is insane and illegal. https://t.co/7TqrnZ2ebi

— Ilhan Omar (@IlhanMN) November 17, 2020

Senate Republicans shouldn't be applying pressure on election officials to overturn the will of the people. This is deeply troubling and unacceptable.

The voters chose @JoeBiden. This was a free and fair election. It's way past time for all of us to accept that and move on. https://t.co/7BsyoFT0Kr

— Cory Booker (@CoryBooker) November 17, 2020

This is what happens when Trump runs the country and his party like a mob boss.

Shameful isn’t even the word. https://t.co/dU9aOYCe76

— Rep. Barbara Lee (@RepBarbaraLee) November 17, 2020

More evidence that Trump and his despicable enablers don't give a single damn about democracy, and will tell any lie and break any law to try to silence American voters. https://t.co/ZFIRsJCqe8

— Eric Swalwell (@ericswalwell) November 16, 2020

If true, Senator Lindsey Graham’s attempted election fixing is a major scandal. https://t.co/UISsl5batn

— Rep. Don Beyer (@RepDonBeyer) November 17, 2020

So basically asking him to commit voter fraud. I see. https://t.co/Kw0V4pkLQP

— Rashida Tlaib (@RashidaTlaib) November 17, 2020

I’d like to report some voter fraud. https://t.co/Fe2591SBBD

— Rep. Pramila Jayapal (@RepJayapal) November 17, 2020