In an interview with CNBC’s Steve Sedgwick on Saturday (September 3), Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) defended his recent warning that there would be “riots in the streets” should former President Donald Trump be prosecuted for his handling of classified material.
“What I tried to do was state the obvious,” Graham explained during the interview at the Ambrosetti Forum in Italy.
He provided further clarity, saying, “Here’s what I said: The raid on President Trump’s home, the likely nominee for 2024, better bear some fruit here.”
The South Carolina Republican also compared the treatment of former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton to that of Trump.
“If it’s just about mishandling classified information, we’ve had a standard set when it came to Hillary Clinton.”
A week earlier, on Sunday (August 28), during an appearance on Fox News’ “Sunday Night in America,” Graham shared his views on Trump being prosecuted with host Trey Gowdy.
He told Gowdy, a former lawmaker responsible for chairing the 2012 Benghazi terror attack Select Committee which uncovered Clinton was using a private email server, that Trump’s prosecution for mishandling classified information would result in “riots on the street.”
At that time, Graham also compared the similarities in Trump and Clinton’s cases, highlighting that “if there a prosecution of Donald Trump for mishandling classified information after the Clinton debacle … there’ll be riots in the streets.”
Then-FBI Director’s decision not to prosecute Clinton has become fodder for Republicans who point to that decision as a substantial reason the former President should get off scot-free.
