"We Are Looking at Battleground States, Not Places Trump Won"
Ethics Experts Send Letter to Senate Ethics Committee Amid 'Improper Interference' Controversy
[Asia Economy Reporter Jeong Hyunjin] Lindsey Graham, a Republican senator and close ally of President Donald Trump, is applying a double standard regarding the verification of mail-in ballots. While pressuring for verification of mail-in ballots in battleground states where fierce competition took place, he has taken a contradictory stance by saying verification is unnecessary in areas where President Trump won.
On the 18th (local time), Senator Graham, chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, told CNN, "There is no doubt about those places (states where Trump won)," and said he would not question the vote counts in those states. He argued, "What we are looking into are the battleground states," adding, "We are not looking into places where Trump lost."
Graham also defended President Trump's claims denying the election results in Michigan, where President-elect Joe Biden secured a last-minute comeback. He said, "The United States is a free country," and added, "The way to win in Michigan is for the courts to overturn enough ballots to gain the lead or to demand a new election." He continued, "The way to win is to have the courts accept objections," and responded, "I am very pleased with the idea that the president should be allowed to raise objections to the (vote counting) process in court."
Graham sparked controversy for improperly intervening in the vote counting process by revealing that he had contacted officials in Georgia, Arizona, and Nevada the day before, insisting that the counting process in those states should be verified. His remarks came after the Georgia Secretary of State, a Republican, revealed that he had received a pressuring phone call from Senator Graham, causing a stir. In response, Graham said, "As a senator concerned about the integrity of the election process nationwide regarding mail-in ballots, I can make contact."
In response, ethics experts including Walter Shaub, former director of the Office of Government Ethics, Richard Painter, former chief ethics attorney in the George Bush administration, and Professor Claire Finkelstein of the University of Pennsylvania’s Center for Ethics and the Rule of Law, sent a letter to the Senate Ethics Committee calling for an investigation into Senator Graham’s improper interference. They viewed Graham’s calls as pressure on state election authorities.
Meanwhile, President Trump’s campaign announced in a statement that it would request a recount in two counties in Wisconsin, a Democratic stronghold, where Trump was defeated. The campaign claimed that absentee ballots in Wisconsin were illegally issued and altered, and that government officials provided illegal advice to circumvent laws requiring voter identity verification.
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