We saw this scoop scroll by in our Twitter feed Monday night but decided to hold on it — something didn’t seem quite right. Amy Gardner of the Washington Post had reported that Sen. Lindsey Graham had pressured Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger to discard legal ballots.
SCOOP: Ga. SoS Raffensperger says Sen. Lindsey Graham pressured him to toss legal ballots. https://t.co/aZF4ywYAHU
— Amy Gardner (@AmyEGardner) November 16, 2020
Georgia’s Republican Secretary of State Raffensperger said he was stunned that Lindsey Graham suggested that he find a way to toss legally cast ballots. https://t.co/BmYf0bX9gI
— Joe Scarborough (@JoeNBC) November 17, 2020
Hold up, though. NBC News is reporting that Raffensperger “interpreted” something Graham said as a suggestion to toss out legally cast votes.
Georgia Sec. of State Raffensperger says Sen. Graham asked him whether he had the power to reject certain absentee ballots, a question he interpreted as a suggestion to toss out legally cast votes. https://t.co/9om0NkPax9
— NBC Politics (@NBCPolitics) November 17, 2020
So we have a whole news cycle based on an INTERPRETATION of what happened, not what actually happened. https://t.co/rfBFoH4wsE
— Joel Pollak (@joelpollak) November 17, 2020
On Fox just now Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger seemingly walking back his accusation that Lindsey Graham had "pressured him to throw out ballots."
A lot of "I had thought he meant/implied…" when Graham had just asked how the signature match process worked.
— Matt Whitlock (@mattdizwhitlock) November 17, 2020
Recommended
Note that the original post garnered 58,000 retweets.
Even in the initial interview that blew up, Raffensperger says Graham "appeared to suggest" and “it sure looked like he was wanting to go down that road” which is PRETTY THIN to accuse a Senator of something so egregious. pic.twitter.com/oK1li5LiF4
— Matt Whitlock (@mattdizwhitlock) November 17, 2020
Yes and the press ran with it and never questioned it as usual.
— KP ???? (@KPCroix88) November 17, 2020
When "walking back" is really … covering a lie. ?
— Say What ?? (@d0u6_) November 17, 2020
Not sure that got the toothpaste back in the tube.
— S. Bennett Powell (@SBennettPowell) November 17, 2020
It's absolutely ridiculous that anyone from the far left regime can spew nonsense and the media just eats it up. Nothing to see here.
— birdman (@OregonGrown85) November 17, 2020
And that’s why we believe 0% of what the media spew. The unending parade of I’m sorry or that’s not what I really meant after politicians are challenged/caught is tiresome and incredibly fraudulent. Why isn’t the media held accountable for airing bs? Why aren’t the politicians?
— kmbmurph (@kmbmurph) November 17, 2020
Yeah, that was obvious as soon as the article hit. Raffensperger is in CYOA mode.
— President-Elect John Laroquette as a Klingon (@derpman47) November 17, 2020
So it wasn’t about tossing legal ballots?
Sen. Lindsey Graham revealed to CNN that he was pushing the GA Sec of State Brad Raffensperger to strengthen signature verification rules for mail-in ballots ahead of the Senate runoffs that will determine the next majority. He said that was the purpose of the call on Friday.
— Ana Cabrera (@AnaCabrera) November 17, 2020
And as chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee, that seems like a concern he should have.
* * *
Update:
Twitter seems to have made Graham’s pressuring of Reffensperger to throw out votes one of its top stories Tuesday. Where’s the flag that says this claim is disputed?
Related:
Alyssa Milano caught spreading fake news as Georgia recount reveals 800 more votes for Trump https://t.co/AlB63hfkdt
— Twitchy Team (@TwitchyTeam) November 17, 2020
Join the conversation as a VIP Member