Tag Archives: Senator Lindsey Graham

Senate Memo Claims Clinton Allies Were “Feeding” Info to State Dept., Christopher Steele

Feb 7, 2018 Jay Syrmopoulos Leave a comment

Washington, D.C. — On Monday, Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley (R-IA) and Crime and Terrorism Subcommittee Chairman Lindsey Graham (R-SC) released a copy of their request for a criminal probe of anti-Trump dossier author Christopher Steele. The Grassley/Graham memo has alleged a convoluted scheme that entailed a foreign source supplying information to a friend of the Clinton family, to be fed to an unnamed official in the Obama State Department, who then proceeded to forwarded the information to Steele.

The Grassley-Graham memo, which is heavily redacted at the FBI’s request, stated:

One memorandum by Mr. Steele that was not published by Buzzfeed is dated October 19, 2016. The report alleges [redacted], as well as [redacted]. Mr. Steele’s memorandum states that his company ‘received his report from [redacted] US State Department,’ that the report was the second in a series, and that the report was information that came from a foreign sub-source who ‘is in touch with [redacted], a contact of [redacted], a friend of the Clintons, who passed it to [redacted].

“It is troubling enough that the Clinton Campaign funded Mr. Steele’s work, but these Clinton associates were contemporaneously feeding Mr. Steele allegations raises additional concerns about his credibility,” Grassley and Graham wrote in a statement accompanying the memo.

The Grassley-Graham memo comes on the heels of the House Intelligence Committee memo, which publicly claimed that Steele lied to the FBI about his contacts with media organizations – thus being terminated as an FBI source. Steele was referred for criminal investigation by Grassley and Graham for lying to federal authorities on January 4, but the accompanying memo that explained their referral was not released at that time due to the FBI and Justice Department reviewing it.

The referral for criminal investigation was based on conflicts between Steele’s testimony in British court and the information he supplied the FBI/DOJ.

The Grassley-Graham memo includes those specific statements, but they have been redacted at the request of the FBI. In the wake of the House Intelligence Committee memo aka the Nunes/FISA memo being declassified, Grassley has called on the FBI to withdraw its redactions, as he noted the memo is “largely based on the same underlying documents.” The Hill reported that “According to a spokesman for Grassley, the blacked-out sections of the referral contain ‘verbatim quotes’ from government surveillance warrant applications that include ‘the government’s description of Steele’s statements to the FBI about his contacts with the media.’”

“Seeking transparency and cooperation should not be this challenging. The government should not be blotting out information that it admits isn’t secret, and it should not take dramatic steps by Congress and the White House to get answers that the American people are demanding,” Grassley wrote. “There are still may questions that can only be answered by complete transparency. That means declassifying as much of the underlying documents as possible.”

Election, Featured, Politics

Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham Suspends Presidential Campaign

Video Dec 21, 2015 Barry Donegan Leave a comment

“Today, I’m suspending my campaign for president. I want to thank everyone who has taken this journey with me. You have honored me with your support,” said Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) in a Monday YouTube video message to his supporters, seen above.

Sen. Graham, whose campaign failed to qualify for the main stage on any of the 2016 Republican primary’s presidential debates, has also withdrawn from the South Carolina Republican primary. Ballot Access News notes that Monday was the official deadline for candidates to file a withdrawal from South Carolina’s primary election.

NPR’s Arnie Siepel wrote, “Graham was potentially facing an embarrassing loss in his home state and now [that he has withdrawn from the S.C. primary] has the leverage of endorsing one of his fellow GOP candidates.”

“I got into this race to put forward a plan to win a war we cannot afford to lose and to turn back the tide of isolationism that was rising in our party. I believe we’ve made enormous progress in this effort,” said Sen. Graham, explaining his objective in running for president.

He added, “Four months ago at the very first debate, I said that any candidate that did not understand that we need more American troops on the ground in Iraq and Syria to defeat ISIL was not ready to be commander-in-chief. At that time, no one stepped forward to join me. Today, most of my fellow candidates have come to recognize this is what’s needed to secure our homeland.”

Sen. Graham told ABC News that he is not yet ready to announce who he will endorse for president, but said, “There’s lots of talented people in the race: Marco Rubio, Jeb Bush, others.”

For more election coverage, click here.

Featured, Foreign Policy, International

Sen. Graham: Without U.S. Boots on the Ground vs. ISIS, ‘There’s a 9/11 Coming’

Nov 16, 2015 Barry Donegan Leave a comment

U.S. Senator from South Carolina and 2016 Republican presidential candidate Lindsey Graham said on CNN’s State of the Union on Sunday that the U.S. will be victimized by a terror attack if it does not send ground troops to fight ISIS in Iraq and Syria.

“I’m trying to protect America from another 9/11, and without American boots on the ground in Syria and Iraq, we’re gonna get hit here at home. And if you don’t understand that, you’re not ready to be commander-in-chief in my view,” Sen. Graham told CNN’s Jake Tapper.

Tapper asked Graham whether he believes that France should activate the North Atlantic Treaty’s Article 5 provision which would draw France’s NATO allies, including the U.S., into a formal, declared war against ISIS.

“They should. The world should be at war with ISIL,” replied Graham.

NATO’s Article 5 provision has previously been invoked only one time — following the Sept. 11, 2001 terror attacks on New York City.

“There is a 9/11 coming, and it is coming from Syria if we don’t disrupt their operation inside of Syria,” said Graham.

Sen. Graham called for the U.S. to declare a no-fly zone over Syria, where Russia is currently carrying out air strikes against ISIS. He also suggested that the U.S. should contribute 10,000 troops to a regional coalition to fight in the conflict.

“We would take back land held by ISIL and hold it until Syria repairs itself,” said Graham, advocating for a post-war U.S. occupation of portions of Iraq and Syria.

“If we don’t do these things soon, what you’ve seen in Paris is coming to America,” Graham claimed.

Earlier this year, Ben Swann released a Truth in Media video exposing how U.S. foreign policy led to the rise of ISIS. Watch it in the below-embedded video player.

https://youtu.be/o6kdi1UXxhY

For more election coverage, click here.

Featured, Foreign Policy, Government Accountability, Opinion, Politics, US

Were Lindsey Graham’s Military Remarks Intended To Be Humorous?

Video Mar 13, 2015 Annabelle Bamforth 16 Comments

The spokesman for Senator Lindsey Graham (R-SC) quietly dismissed the remarks that Graham made last weekend in New Hampshire saying he would “literally use the military” to hold Congress until its members restored defense spending cuts. The audio, first exposed by Ron Noyes of BenSwann.com, spread quickly across the country and caused several media outlets to express either bewilderment or concern.

According to Bloomberg Politics, Graham’s spokesman, Kevin Bishop, said that Graham’s words were “not to be taken literally,” despite the Senator’s own use of the word “literally” when making that remark. It can be argued that Graham didn’t understand the correct use of certain words, but is his military statement simply another instance of the Senator making peculiar musings that are supposed to be considered humorous?

Graham has made his share of “jokes” as Senator. He recently mocked House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi’s personal appearance during a private fundraiser. “If you can get through all the surgeries, there’s disgust,” he reportedly said regarding Pelosi’s face during Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s speech to Congress, according to Bloomberg. Graham reportedly apologized and claimed he “made a very poor attempt at humor to talk about (Pelosi’s) reaction, and for that I apologize.” Graham has also joked in the past about a lack of “angry white guys” in the Republican Party, made a humorous pledge that “white men who are in private clubs are going to do great in my presidency” during a speech at a private club, and poked fun at the possibility of John McCain being killed during a trip to Syria.

However, Graham does not usually apply humor when discussing the military or government power. Graham’s potential presidential run is somberly based on pressing for a “robust national defense.” His presidential exploratory committee is called Security Through Strength. Graham told reporters last month that “What compels me to run is that I’ve never been more worried about our nation and the threats we face at home and abroad, and we’re running out of time to deal with these threats. Never since 9/11 have I seen so many terrorists, or dare I say armies now, with so much safe haven, so many recruits, so much money, so much capability to attack our nation than I do today.”

Graham was completely serious when he said “The world is literally about to blow up” expressing his disagreement with President Barack Obama’s 2014 State Of the Union Address, and adding that “The world as I know was not remotely described by the president. Syria is a contagion.” When Graham claimed that the Islamic State “will open the gates of hell to spill out on the world”, that was not likely a joke he was making on Fox News. Graham was also serious when he defended the NSA’s massive data collection of the phone calls of Americans, and he actually believes that the collection is limited to terror suspects.

Was Graham joking when he said he would use the military to serve his own interests? It’s possible. Bishop, who reportedly claimed that Mediaite and Bloomberg were the only media outlets to ask for a response to Graham’s remarks, has not provided an official statement. Despite an inquiry from BenSwann.com for clarification, this was the only reply offered:

If Graham was indeed making a wisecrack, his comment offered about as much humor and class as President Obama’s joke about killing the Jonas Brothers with predator drones.

Featured, International, Opinion, Politics, Privacy, US

GOP Senators Cite Paris Shooting To Rally Against Curbing NSA Power

Jan 12, 2015 Annabelle Bamforth 34 Comments

Several Republican Senators warned against hindering the National Security Agency’s capabilities in Washington last week, and have called for strengthening the NSA in response to the shooting at the Charlie Hebdo office in Paris last week.

“I hope the effect of that is that people realize… the pendulum has swung way too far after [leaker Edward Snowden],” said Sen. Bob Corker (R-TN), who was recently elected as Chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, regarding public opinion about the NSA’s authority following the Paris shooting. “Hopefully people realize that the NSA plays a very, very important role in keeping Americans safe, and my guess there will be less of a desire to hamstring them unnecessarily,” Corker told reporters last week.

Senator Richard Burr (R-N.C.), who was recently named chairman of the Intelligence Committee, criticized the Obama administration for failing to rally public support of gathering intelligence, saying that Obama’s past language “does not adequately convey to the American people how severe the threat is from terrorism and that public support of what our intelligence committee does is really crucial to the long term effectiveness of our entire community.”

Senator John McCain (R-AZ), chairman of the Armed Services Committee, said that budget cuts to agencies such as the NSA have hindered intelligence gathering. “I know that the NSA has been thwarted in their capabilities because of sequestration,” McCain said. “They have not been able to do many of the things they have wanted to do because of the impact of sequestration.”

Senator Lindsey Graham (R-SC) has been remarkably vocal in his fear of future terror attacks and criticism of the Obama administration for its performance in dealing with extremist groups. “I fear we can expect and must prepare for more attacks like this in the future,” Graham tweeted.

In a statement, Graham said that “Through a combination of poor policy choices made by the Obama Administration regarding detention and interrogation policies, and budget cuts approved by the Congress with President Obama’s support, I believe our national security infrastructure designed to prevent these types of attacks from occurring is under siege.”

The USA Freedom Act, an NSA reform bill, was rejected by the Senate last November. Many Republicans had voted against the bill fearing that reforms to the NSA, even those that ended bulk phone data collection of innocent Americans, would leave the US vulnerable to terror attacks. In the next five months, Congress is slated to reauthorize a portion of the Patriot Act that authorizes the NSA to collect the phone data of virtually all Americans without a warrant.

Senator Rand Paul, (R-KY), said that he’s in favor of the NSA but “I think the American people are not in favor of having all their phone data collected without a warrant.”

Politics

Lindsey Graham’s Debate Opener: “I Am Not a Ron Paul Republican”

Video Jun 10, 2014 Barry Donegan 17 Comments

In South Carolina, voters are set to head to the polls today to settle a divisive Republican primary fight between embattled US Senator Lindsey Graham and a field of six conservative challengers. South Carolina requires the winning candidate to get over 50% of the vote, and, if this does not occur, the top-two candidates must face off in a runoff election, which would occur two weeks later. The first and only Republican US Senate primary debate took place last Saturday, and Lindsey Graham responded to his first question by taking a shot at the libertarian wing of the GOP, represented by former US Congressman Ron Paul.

At around the 8:30 mark in the above video, provided by South Carolina Educational Television and featuring footage of the entire debate, Lindsey Graham receives his opening question. Debate moderator Beth Padgett of The Greenville News asked, giving voice to concerns rising from talk radio, “Senator Graham, one of the main criticisms we’ve heard from you in this election is that you’re too eager to compromise with Democrats — that you rush across the aisle to forge a compromise and, in doing so, weaken the Republican Party’s position sometimes. How do you deal with that criticism?”

Senator Graham responded with, “Well, at the end of the day, my job is to represent my state’s interests and put my nation ahead of the party, but I love the Republican Party. The reason I’m going to win the primary, overwhelmingly, I hope, is because I’m a Ronald Reagan Republican. I like Ron Paul, but I’m not a Ron Paul Republican… it’s not good to get to the left of Obama on foreign policy.”

Candidate Richard Cash, a small business owner, shot back at Graham‘s self-characterization as a Reagan Republican. “Senator, you describe yourself as a Ronald Reagan Republican, but a lot of us here on the stage tonight believe you’re a John McCain Republican.”

State Senator Lee Bright, who supported Ron Paul in the 2012 presidential election, is polling in second place, behind Graham and ahead of the other five challengers. Also running are Nancy Mace, the first female graduate of the military college The Citadel, Bill Conner and Benjamin Dunn, both of whom are attorneys and veterans of the War in Afghanistan, and Det Bowers, a lawyer and Christian minister. Graham’s opponents challenged him on a wide range of issues, including his support of the Wall Street bailout, his confirmation votes in favor of President Obama’s Supreme Court nominees, his position on immigration, and his willingness to abandon issues important to conservatives in an effort to reach across the aisle and pass legislation.

The State is providing updated South Carolina primary election results throughout the day at this link.

Ben Swann's Truth In Media