Republican Senator Lindsey Graham of South Carolina has made it clear that he does not agree with Donald Trump’s suggestion to jail the members of the House Select Committee investigating January 6, 2021.
Graham, a staunch Trump supporter, told Kristen Welker of Meet the Press on Sunday that he disagrees with the president-elect but did not elaborate.
“President-elect Trump told me he thinks the members of the January 6 committee should go to jail , do you agree with that statement?” Welker asked.
Graham responded with a simple “No.”
In a recent interview, Trump expressed his strong disapproval of the committee members, including Liz Cheney, by stating that they “should go to jail” for their involvement in investigating and revealing information about the Capitol attack.
The president-elect incited a violent mob of his supporters to unlawfully storm and enter the Capitol while Congress was certifying the 2020 election results. He spread lies about mass voter fraud, falsely claiming that Democrats had “stolen” the election from him.
Tragically, four lives were lost on January 6th, with an additional fatality occurring the following day.
Evidence presented by the January 6 committee suggests that while Trump did not explicitly instruct his supporters to storm the Capitol, he also did not intervene or take action to prevent them from doing so, even when urged by other lawmakers.
The committee consisted of nine lawmakers, including former representatives Cheney, Adam Kizinger, Elaine Luria, Stephanie Murphy, and current Senator Adam Schiff, along with Representatives Bennie Thompson, Zoe Lofgren, Pete Aguilar, and Jamie Raskin.
In response to the committee’s presentation of evidence and testimony portraying him as an unhinged leader desperately clinging to power, Trump vehemently criticized their findings. Furthermore, he lambasted the prosecutors who had charged him with federal crimes relating to his actions leading up to that day.
Trump, on the contrary, insists that January 6 was a day characterized by “peace” and “love”. In fact, he has gone as far as making a pledge to grant pardons to individuals who have been charged with crimes connected to that particular day.
However, he is now seeking to take additional measures to penalize the committee members even further.
Graham, although largely supportive of Trump’s agenda, diverged from the president-elect’s perspective on January 6.
Graham opted to certify the 2020 election results, while expressing criticism towards his fellow Republicans who made a different choice. Nevertheless, he also cast his vote to acquit Trump during his second impeachment trial and opposed the establishment of the January 6 committee.
Graham does not support the committee, but he does not think they should be imprisoned for fulfilling their responsibilities in investigating the Capitol attack.
