Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) reportedly called on Capitol Police to use their guns during the January 6 riot.
The Washington Post reported Graham was “irate that senators were forced to flee their own chamber,” adding, “He yelled at the Senate sergeant-at-arms.”
Graham said, “What are you doing? Take back the Senate! You’ve got guns. Use them.”
He continued, “We give you guns for a reason.”
The senator repeated, “Use them.”
Graham’s communications director, Kevin Bishop, told Fox News in a statement, “Graham was quite clear on this point, noting that the backpacks and other items brought into the Capitol could have contained bombs and explosives. The damage could have been much, much worse.”
The Post noted Graham was one of former President Donald Trump’s “closest friends in Congress.”
According to the report, Graham called Trump’s daughter, Ivanka, “repeatedly with suggestions for what the president should say.”
He told her, “You need to get these people out of here.”
Graham added, “This thing is going south. This is not good. You’re going to have to tell these people to stand down. Stand down.”
The Post says it will not publish the former president’s full response to the three-part investigation, as IJR reported.
The outlet reached out to Trump with “a list of 37 findings reported as part of its investigation.”
“His spokesman Taylor Budowich provided a lengthy written response that included series of unrelated, inflammatory claims that The Post is not publishing in full,” the Post said.
Budowich’s statement claimed “the media’s obsession with the January 6th protest is a blatant attempt to overshadow a simple fact: there is no greater threat to America than leftist journalists and the Fake News, which has avoided a careful examination of the fraudulent 2020 election.”
It goes on, “The media, just like the Democrats, do not want to see secure and honest elections. Instead of reporting the facts, outlets like the Washington Post sow division, hate, and lies, like it is doing with this story.”