Lindsey Graham Confronted on Jan. 6 Awards Gala at Trump Golf Club
Senator Lindsey Graham, a South Carolina Republican, was confronted by CNN's Jake Tapper on Sunday morning about the January 6, 2021, awards gala that is set to take place at former President Donald Trump's golf club next month.
On January 6, a mob of Trump supporters stormed the U.S. Capitol building in Washington, D.C., in a failed attempt to stop Congress from certifying Joe Biden's 2020 election victory following repeated claims from Trump that the election was stolen from him via widespread voter fraud. There is no evidence to support such claims.
Nearly 1,500 people were charged over their alleged involvement in the riot as of August 15 and over 460 were sentenced to prison as of this past January. A gala organized by Stand in the Gap, a group formed to support "January 6th defendants and their families during their time in incarceration," is being held on September 5 at Trump's New Jersey golf resort in Bedminster. Trump is an invited guest speaker at the event, but his campaign said he will not be attending.
"Do you think it would be a mistake for [Trump] to go? And is it a mistake for this event to be taking place at Bedminster at all?" Tapper asked Graham, a Trump ally, on CNN's State of the Union on Sunday morning.
The GOP senator responded: "My view of January 6th, I was actually there, that the people who broke into the Capitol and assaulted police officers should go to jail. They committed a crime. There are people very upset about the outcome of the 2020 election. I get that."
Newsweek reached out to Harris' and Trump's campaigns as well as Graham's office via email for comment on Sunday morning.
Graham then diverted attention away from Trump, the GOP presidential nominee in the upcoming election, and to Vice President Kamala Harris, the Democratic presidential nominee.
"But Vice President Harris tried to raise bail money for people who burned Minneapolis. I didn't like that either. So, when it comes to the parties condoning violence, I would say we both should knock it off in that regard," he said.
Graham was referring to Harris publicly supporting the Minnesota Freedom Fund (MFF), a nonprofit that pays criminal bail and immigration bonds for those who can't afford it, in the past.
In June 2020, Harris posted a donation link to the MFF on social media and wrote: "If you're able to, chip in now to the @MNFreedomFund to help post bail for those protesting on the ground in Minnesota."
During the summer of 2020, civil rights protests against police brutality erupted across the United States following the murder of George Floyd, a Black man who was killed by a Minneapolis police officer during an arrest. Some of the protests turned violent and included looting buildings and setting them on fire.
There is no evidence, however, to support that Harris donated to the MFF herself.
During a speech launching her 2020 presidential campaign, Harris, who was a career prosecutor before joining the U.S. Senate, spoke of the issues plaguing the criminal justice system: "Too many Black and brown Americans are locked up. From mass incarceration to cash bail to policing, our criminal justice system needs drastic repair."
Tapper pressed Graham on Sunday, asking, "So, you don't think that Donald Trump should allow this fundraiser at Bedminster?"
Graham first criticized the fact that some jailed Capitol rioters still haven't been brought to trial, arguing that their due process rights have been violated.
He then said he'll "leave it up to [Trump] as to what causes to support. I am supporting him because my country, your country, our country is hurting and he offers policy changes that we desperately need."
Trump has been sympathetic to jailed Capitol rioters and has repeatedly said he'll pardon them if he wins this year's election.
Meanwhile, the former president faces four felony charges of his own for his alleged actions surrounding the riot: conspiracy to defraud the United States; conspiracy to obstruct an official proceeding; obstruction of and attempt to obstruct an official proceeding; and conspiracy against rights. He has pleaded not guilty to all charges and maintained his innocence in the case, claiming it is politically motivated.
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