Graham Doubts Kushner Reports — ‘I Don’t Trust This Story as Far as I Can Throw It’

Sunday on CNN’s “State of the Union,” Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) said of reports that President Donald Trump’s son-in-law White House senior adviser Jared Kushner attempted to set up a back channel with the Kremlin was a fake story that he does not “trust.”

Partial transcript as follows:

BASH: Senator, let’s turn to the bombshell report from “The Washington Post” that Kushner and the Russian ambassador discussed the possibility of setting up secret communications, channel, with Moscow. and Evan McMullin the former Republican staffer who had a brief run for president, he tweeted that the report is, quote treasonous activity, whether born of malice, naivety or both.

GRAHAM: We’re chasing our tails as a nation when it comes to the Russians. I don’t know who leaked this supposed conversation. But just think of it this way, you’ve got the ambassador to Russia reporting back to Moscow on an open channel, hey, Jared Kushner is going to move into the embassy. I don’t trust this story as far as I can throw it.

BASH: In what way?

GRAHAM: It makes no sense that the Russian ambassador would report back to Moscow on a channel that he most likely knows we’re monitoring. The whole story line is suspicious. I’ve never been more concerned and suspicious about all things Russia than I am right now, so I’m not going to jump to the conclusion that Mr. McMullin jumped so.

BASH: So, you think that it is possible that what the ambassador said to Moscow was because he knew he was being monitored and not accurate?

GRAHAM: Well, look at this way. Apparently, the FBI director intervened in the elections in July 2016. Based on a fake e-mail generated by the Russians from that Democrats to the Department of Justice trying to shut down the e-mail investigation of Clinton. If that was fake, why don’t you think this is fake?

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