Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., was a lawman before he was a lawmaker.
As a former practicing attorney and the current chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee, which oversees the Justice Department, Graham has experience weighing the veracity of sensitive accusations, including when allegations of sexual misconduct were leveled against Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh.
It is nothing short of shocking, then, to read how flippantly the South Carolina Republican responded Tuesday to questions about author E. Jean Carroll’s claim that President Trump sexually assaulted her in the mid-1990s. Graham gave a response that can best be described as atrocious, especially coming from a man who is familiar both with the law and litigating sexual assault cases.
“The president has denied it,” the senator said. “I have no reason to — you know, no. He’s denied it and that’s all I needed to hear.”
He added, “That’s the end of it for me unless she shows something new.”
Senator Lindsey Graham, R of SC, on the latest rape allegation against President Trump: “The president has denied it. I have no reason to .— you know, no. He’s denied it and that’s all I needed to hear.”
— Nicholas Fandos (@npfandos) June 25, 2019
No, no, no, and no.
This is a terrible standard to apply to allegations of sexual misconduct. Graham knows better. But such is the dedication of #MAGA acolytes to the president.
It would have been one thing if Graham said he struggled with certain aspects of Carroll’s story. It would have been one thing had the senator said he questioned Carroll’s credibility. But he did not do any of those things. Instead, Graham suggested that the say-so of the accused is good enough to put the allegations to rest.
In what universe is the word of the accused enough to dismiss an allegation of sexual assault?
It would have been enough to point to any of the serious questions surrounding the details and timing of Carroll’s allegations. Her bizarre and unpredictable behavior in media interviews has done her credibility no favors. The fact that her explosive charges have coincided with her appearing on the cover of New York magazine to promote her new book has also raised legitimate questions about her motivations. One could also claim that her bizarre reasons for declining to pursue legal charges are a sign that something is not right. At the very least, one could say that her decision to tie her story to idiotic #Resistance crowd-pleasers like Trump’s tax returns suggests she is not serious about her own allegation and that it is possibly a partisan, self-serving hoax.
But Graham did not point to any of these possible red flags Tuesday. He instead said that Trump’s denial was all he “needed to hear.”
This is like saying Kavanaugh’s denial of Julie Swetnick’s story is itself enough to dismiss her absurd allegation of teenage rape parties. But Kavanaugh’s word is not enough. Swetnick’s story falls apart on its merits. Likewise, Carroll’s allegation against Trump may also fall apart given enough scrutiny. Then again, her story may also be true. It all depends on the facts. And absent hard facts concerning a 25-year-old allegation of sexual assault, all we have is the credibility of the two parties involved.
