Lindsey Graham Forced to Reckon On Air With Flip-Flop on FBI Director
Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) made clear years ago he wanted Donald Trump to pick an FBI director who was “beyond reproach.” Now, in light of Trump’s choice of Kash Patel, his words have come to haunt him.
The senator was faced with his past remarks on Sunday’s Meet the Press when moderator Kristen Welker played back his 2017 comments (conveniently, also on Meet the Press) while discussing Patel, a Trump pick that has made his name out of promises to weaponize the government to prosecute anti-Trump figures across various sectors.
“He has a duty and obligation to pick somebody beyond reproach, outside the political lane,” Graham said at the time. “I think he’ll do that. I hope he’ll do that. I would encourage the president to pick somebody we can all rally around, including those who work in the FBI.”
“Senator,” Welker asked after she rolled the clip, “is Kash Patel beyond reproach, and someone that everyone can rally around?”
Graham seemed to verbally squirm, dismissing his remarks as what Trump should do “the last time” after firing then-director James Comey. He claimed conservatives viewed the FBI as “a very biased organization,” referencing various MAGA flashpoints such as Hunter Biden’s laptop and ex-British spy Christopher Steele’s dossier that claimed Trump colluded with the Russian government.
“So the FBI we talked about then has changed,” Graham said on Sunday. “So what do I want in an FBI director now? Somebody that can clean it up, get back to the job of fighting crime. Don’t have your thumb on the political scale. Make sure it’s not used as a political weapon against people that you have a beef with.”
The sentiment appeared to be shared by other GOP senators, who praised Patel last week as a person who could restore integrity to the bureau—if just to avoid Trump’s ire.
“If you’re going to clean out the F.B.I. and actually get them focused on mission, rather than politics, Kash is the perfect person for that,” Sen. Markwayne Mullin (R-OK) told The New York Times.
Graham echoed the lack of trust in the FBI on Sunday when pressed about Patel’s chances for bipartisan support—even as Patel has railed against the bureau he may lead and has compiled an “enemies” list.
“None of us trust these people anymore,” Graham said.
