The indictment of Donald Trump in New York over hush-money payments to a porn star was a global spectacle. But the looming second criminal indictment in another state underscores the blizzard of legal challenges he is facing and the real possibility that he will bring his most loyal allies down with him.
In Georgia, there is another criminal investigation of Mr. Trump nearing completion, this one led by Fulton County District Attorney Fani T. Willis. While nothing is certain, there are numerous signs that she may go big, with a more kaleidoscopic indictment charging not only Trump, but perhaps a dozen or more of his allies, The New York Times reported.
Her investigation has targeted a wide range of conduct centered around efforts to subvert the democratic process and overturn Mr. Trump’s 2020 election loss. Nearly 20 people are already known to have been told that they are targets who could face charges, including Trump’s former personal lawyer Rudy Giuliani, and David Shafer, the head of the Georgia Republican Party. And, yes, even South Carolina Sen. Lindsey Graham could be in legal jeopardy over his role in Trump’s effort to overturn the election results in the state.
Some conservatives have expressed anger at the Trump indictment. But Graham seems to be having a nervous breakdown over Trump’s legal quagmire.
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Last week, clips of the South Carolina Republican went viral as he appeared to get emotional as he called on Trump supporters to donate to him.
One clip that showed Graham speaking about the charges against Trump on Sean Hannity’s Fox News show on Thursday received over 4.5 million views.
The senator called the Trump indictment “legal voodoo.”
“So what is behind all this? Hatred. They are trying to destroy Donald Trump because they fear him at the ballot box,” he said. “To the conservatives out there, make sure you vote, if you have got friends, make sure they vote. If you don’t have any friends, go make some friends, but you need to help this man, Donald J. Trump. They are trying to drain him dry.”
Graham added: “He has spent more money on lawyers than most people spend on campaigns, they are trying to bleed him dry. Donald J. Trump.com, go tonight, give the president some money to fight this bullsh*t.”
Some people are starting to speculate that Graham fears he may get indicted for calling Georgia election officials to pressure them to assure a “more favorable” outcome for Trump in the 2020 election.
The Georgia investigation is considered one of the most significant potential legal threats to the former president, and Graham is one of a number of high-profile Trump allies embroiled in the probe.
When Willis filed paperwork in July seeking Graham’s testimony, she wrote that she wanted to ask him about a phone call he made to Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger shortly after the election.
Raffensperger has said Graham asked whether the secretary of state could reject certain absentee ballots, which Raffensperger said he interpreted as a suggestion to throw out legally cast votes.
After starting the Trump investigation in February 2021, Ms. Willis’s office sought the aid of a special grand jury to gather and consider evidence.
Emily Kohrs, the forewoman of that special grand jury, strongly hinted in an interview with The New York Times in February that, besides Trump, more than a dozen people had been recommended for indictment. “You’re not going to be shocked,” she said.
Court records show that the special grand jury sought testimony from witnesses including Mark Meadows, who served as Trump’s White House chief of staff, Senator Lindsey Graham, and Trevian Kutti, a former self-described publicist for rapper Kanye West who, according to prosecutors, was involved in a plot to force a Fulton County elections worker to give a false confession of election fraud.
So, Graham’s tears may not be out of love for Trump, but out of fear of being indicted himself.
Watch the clip below.
Lindsey Graham appears to be on the verge of crying pic.twitter.com/Ihxt5CYUX4
— Acyn (@Acyn) March 31, 2023
