Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., suggested Friday that the anonymous author of a scathing New York Times op-ed about President Trump’s fitness for office may be trying to create “a new line of attack” against the president in the event special counsel Robert Mueller fails to find evidence of Russian collusion.
Speaking to reporters two days after the op-ed was published by an unnamed senior administration official, Graham said the wall-to-wall coverage its received proved the media and the president’s critics were attempting to create a new narrative about Trump.
“This op-ed piece about the personality of the president, suggesting that he’s unhinged and incapable of being a good president without being minded, tells me a lot about the Mueller investigation,” Graham said. “This, to me, is a signal that if there’s nothing there with Russia, in terms of the president working with the Russians during his campaign, the next line of attack is the man is unfit for office.”
Since the anonymous column was first published, several members of Trump’s Cabinet have issued statements denying any involvement and slamming the author as “gutless,” “cowardly,” and “disgruntled.” The president himself has urged the New York Times to reveal the author’s identity for “national security purposes,” and accused the person of “treason.”
But Graham’s comments on Friday marked the first time a Republican ally of the White House sought to link the essay to the ongoing federal investigation into Russian election meddling.
“I’m definitely saying that this shows to me a shift about the attack on the president,” he told reporters.
Graham continued, “Here’s what I think is coming: I think you’re going to find a report by Mueller that has absolutely no evidence of collusion between the president and the Russians, and the new line of attack is going to be showcased along the lines in this op-ed piece.”
The South Carolina senator also claimed it was suspicious that the op-ed was published the same week that reports emerged indicating Mueller and his team would accept written answers from Trump instead of an in-person interview with the president.
“When you take the op-ed piece … and you look at the fact that Mueller was willing to accept written answers about collusion, it suggests to me, and I may be wrong, that the Mueller investigation – when it comes to collusion, there’s nothing there,” Graham said.
