Lindsay Graham defends Kash Patel in a heated exchange with the CBS host
Sen. Lindsey Graham, RS.C., had a tense interaction with Margaret Brennan during a live interview on CBS’ “Face of the Nation” on Sunday.
Graham Brennan said he is “ready” to vote to confirm Donald Trump’s nominee for FBI director, Kash Patel, and believes Patel’s confirmation hearing will “expose him as a very competent legal person.”
The comments came after Brennan cited former US Attorney General Bill Barr’s memo about Patel.
“Patel had no experience to qualify him to serve in the world’s top law enforcement agency,” Barr wrote in his 2022 memo.
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Former United States Attorney General Bill Barr speaks at a news conference on December 21, 2020. CBS’ “Face the Nation” host Margaret Brennan referenced the Barr 2022 memo while speaking with Sen. Lindsey Graham on January 19, 2025. (Michael Reynolds-Poole)
Graham Barr was wrong when he wrote it, and now he is wrong about Patel. He said he would welcome advice on the candidate from former Rep. Trey Gowdy, who worked with Patel.
“Cash was a public defender, he was a prosecutor, he worked with Trey Gowdy on Russian fraud,” Graham said. “So I think he has experience. He has the president’s trust.”
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President-elect Donald Trump has nominated longtime ally Kashyap “Cash” Patel, a frequent critic of the FBI, to be the bureau’s next director in the new administration. (Reuters)
“I’m ready to vote for him because I know him. You see, you never asked him about the Russian fraud he exposed,” Graham continued. People on the right believe he is part of the solution, not part of the problem.
Graham therefore began to talk about the situation in the Middle East and its relationship with the “world stage”.
“You took me from Kash Patel to Israel,” Brennan said.
Donald Trump shakes hands with Senator Lindsey Graham following a meeting with Senate Republicans at the National Republican Senatorial Committee office on Thursday, June 13, 2024 in Washington, DC. (Al Drago/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
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“You don’t have to worry about Cash Patel,” Graham replied when Brennan asked about Patel “following reporters.”
“You have to worry about reporting the news correctly, which you’re not going to do about everything about Trump,” Graham said.
The CBS host reminded Graham that he was a guest on the commercial because “we wanted to hear from you” before going to commercial break.
