Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) told reporters on Tuesday that Joe Biden (D) is not officially “president-elect” until President Trump concedes or the states have certified the results and the court cases have been dismissed.
The Wall Street Journal’s Lindsay Wise detailed a Q&A with the South Carolina senator, who told reporters that it is “now” time for Trump’s team to provide proof to back its mounting questions on the integrity of the election.
“Bottom line is you’re attacking the voting machines, you have to prove that, you can’t just say that. You know, there may be proof, I don’t know. But it’s kind of time now to show it in a court of law,” Graham said, according to Wise.
“We are at the point now where recounts are going on and it’s now time to put it up,” he added.
When asked for a timeline on when it is time to collectively refer to Biden as “president-elect” — a term several reporters have already begun to embrace — Graham said it should occur “when Trump concedes or the court cases have been dismissed and the states certified.”
“If there is no concession there is a contest. If there is a contest in court & the party loses, that’s the end of the contest. There is no way to overturn a election other than a court of law,” Graham added:
Graham also told reporters on Tuesday that he has been in contact with election officials in both Arizona and Nevada:
On Monday, Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger (R) accused the Senate Judiciary Committee chairman of implying that he should “look hard and see how many ballots you could throw out” during the recount effort in the Peach State.
“I want to be clear, you say Senator Graham wanted you to find ways to get rid of legally cast ballots. CNN asked him about these allegations. He denied them and said that’s ridiculous. His words, ‘that’s ridiculous,’” CNN’s Wolf Blitzer said.
“Well, just an implication that ‘look hard and see how many ballots you could throw out.’ And I think that they’re looking at that as part of a court case,” the secretary of state said.
Graham has stood by the president in the days following the election, explicitly stating that Trump “should not concede” during a November 8 appearance on Sunday Morning Futures.
“To my Republican colleagues out there, we have to fight back, or we will accept our fate,” he said at the time. Days later, he defended his call for Trump and his allies to question voter irregularities.
“We don’t need their permission to look into these allegations. We owe it to those who voted for President Trump and the country at large to test the system,” Graham said.
COMMENTS
Please let us know if you're having issues with commenting.