U.S. Senator Lindsey Graham (R-South Carolina) has issued a statement after FBI Director Kash Patel disclosed that Graham was among eight Republican senators whose communications were surveilled by the FBI during the Biden administration.
Graham commented on the situation, stating, “This is chilling.” He further said, “As Chairman of the Judiciary Committee [in 2021], I did the job I felt necessary and to believe that the Department of Justice or a Special Counsel would subpoena who I called, where I called from should bother everybody. It certainly bothers the hell out of me.”
Graham also recognized the actions of current FBI leadership: “The FBI needs to be congratulated for finding this and exposing it. [FBI Director] Kash Patel and [Deputy FBI Director] Dan Bongino are trying to clean up the mess they inherited. What happened should unnerve everybody.”
He highlighted that “This was done in 2023 in the middle of a presidential election cycle where I’m supporting President Trump.” Graham added, “One way to make sure this doesn’t happen again is to fire the people who were behind it and hold the government accountable for violating the rights and separation of powers that exist in this country…”
According to information released, in 2023 as part of Special Counsel Jack Smith’s investigation into former President Trump, the FBI subpoenaed phone data belonging to several Republican lawmakers. These included Senators Bill Hagerty (R-Tennessee), Josh Hawley (R-Missouri), Dan Sullivan (R-Alaska), Tommy Tuberville (R-Alabama), Ron Johnson (R-Wisconsin), Cynthia Lummis (R-Wyoming), Marsha Blackburn (R-Tennessee), as well as U.S. Representative Mike Kelly (R-Pennsylvania).
The collected data covered calls made between January 4-7, 2021. The records showed details such as when calls were made, their recipients, duration, and general location data at those times. During this period, Graham was serving as Chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee.
A full video statement from Senator Graham is available online.
