Stay up to date with notifications from The Independent

Notifications can be managed in browser preferences.

Trump loyalist Lindsey Graham was unimpressed by Rudy Giuliani’s election fraud ‘evidence,’ new book claims

‘Give me some names,’ the senator reportedly begged the former New York mayor. ‘You need to put it in writing. You need to show me the evidence’

Nathan Place
New York
Monday 20 September 2021 18:02 EDT
Comments
Lindsey Graham says he will invite Rudy Giuliani to testify to his Senate committee

Your support helps us to tell the story

From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.

At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.

The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.

Your support makes all the difference.

In the final days of Donald Trump’s presidency, one of his staunchest allies heard out his lawyers’ case that the 2020 election had been stolen. According to a new book, he was unconvinced.

Journalists Bob Woodward and Robert Costa describe the scene in Peril, a new chronicle of the volatile transition from presidents Trump to Biden. According to the authors, Senator Lindsey Graham, a die-hard Trump supporter, agreed to sit down with the outgoing president’s top lawyer, Rudy Giuliani, and hear his best evidence that Joe Biden had actually lost the election.

At the West Wing office of outgoing chief of staff Mark Meadows, Mr Graham reportedly listened as a computer expert put forth by Mr Giuliani claimed it was mathematically impossible for Mr Biden to have won as decisively as he did.

The South Carolina senator was unimpressed.

“Give me some names,” he reportedly said. “You need to put it in writing. You need to show me the evidence.”

The following Monday, Mr Giuliani sent Mr Graham a pile of memos outlining that “evidence.” Mr Graham sent them to his top lawyer at the Senate Judiciary Committee, Lee Holmes, who was equally unpersuaded. According to Peril, the memos made wild assertions without references or evidence, making it hard for Mr Holmes to even check their work.

“Holmes could find no public records that would even allow someone to reach these conclusions,” Woodward and Costa wrote.

Privately, Mr Graham was even more withering, calling the entire presentation a “third grade”-level report.

In reality, Joe Biden won the presidential election by a wide margin in both the popular vote and the Electoral College. Mr Trump baselessly claimed that outcome was illegitimate, but failed to prove it in dozens of court cases.

In the end, Senator Graham voted to certify Mr Biden’s election victory, even after a mob of Trump supporters stormed the Capitol.

“All I can say is count me out,” the senator said on the evening of 6 January. “Enough is enough.”

Join our commenting forum

Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies

Comments

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged inPlease refresh your browser to be logged in