Graham defends ‘riots in the streets’ comment, says he tried to ‘state the obvious’

Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) on Saturday defended his recent warning of “riots in the streets” if former President Trump is prosecuted for his handling of classified materials.

“What I tried to do was state the obvious,” Graham told CNBC’s Steve Sedgwick during an interview at the Ambrosetti Forum in Italy.

“Here’s what I said: The raid on President Trump’s home, the likely nominee for 2024, better bear some fruit here,” Graham continued. “If it’s just about mishandling classified information, we’ve had a standard set when it came to Hillary Clinton.”

Federal agents executed a search warrant at Trump’s Mar-a-Lago residence on Aug. 8, when they recovered some 33 boxes containing more than 100 classified records.

The search was connected to the Justice Department’s investigation into whether Trump violated the Espionage Act and two other federal statutes, which do not rely on the records being classified. The investigations have led to swirling speculation about whether Trump will ultimately be prosecuted.

Graham made the controversial remark last Sunday during an appearance on Fox News’s “Sunday Night in America” with host Trey Gowdy, a former lawmaker who chaired the House’s select committee investigating the 2012 Benghazi terror attack that uncovered a private email server used by Clinton. 

“If there’s a prosecution of Donald Trump for mishandling classified information after the Clinton debacle … there’ll be riots in the streets,” Graham told Gowdy.

Graham and other Republicans have repeatedly referenced the scandal in characterizing any potential prosecution of Trump as a double standard. Then-FBI Director James Comey described Clinton’s server as “extremely careless,” but the agency declined to prosecute her for mishandling classified information. 

“Our country, the people on our side, believe that when it comes to the justice system, there are no rules regarding Trump,” Graham said on Saturday, adding that its a case of “‘Get him. It doesn’t matter how you get him,’ so I said that if it’s similar to what happened to Clinton and he gets prosecuted, it’ll be one of the most disruptive events in America.”

During the interview, the South Carolina Republican also defended his actions following the 2020 presidential election, which are now part of an ongoing court battle with the Fulton County, Ga., district attorney.

Fani Willis, the Democratic district attorney, has sought Graham’s testimony as part of her investigation into whether Trump or his allies unlawfully attempted to overturn the 2020 presidential election in the state. 

But Graham has argued a constitutional provision protecting lawmakers from lawsuits and prosecution for things they say and do as part of their legislative work allows him to avoid testifying. 

A federal judge on Thursday largely denied Graham’s bid to quash the subpoena; however, Graham said he remained confident his effort to avoid testifying would ultimately succeed.

“I think the court is going to recognize that my activities as a United States senator was covered by the Speech and Debate Clause, that the county prosecutor’s desire to bring me down to Georgia oversteps the Constitution,” he told CNBC.