Bob Woodward and Robert Acosta's new book on the Trump presidency's chaotic finale has another bombshell claim, although the former president has yet to comment so far.
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The latest excerpt from Peril published in today's edition of The Washington Post details how President Trump's legal team attempted to persuade Sens. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) and Mike Lee (R-Utah) of unprecedented voter fraud despite not having any proof.
Both Graham and Lee were staunch allies of the president and open enough to the idea of widespread voter fraud that they met with members of Trump's inner circle to go over the evidence they professed to have.
Graham sat down with Rudy Giuliani days before the attempted Capitol insurrection but soon determined that Giuliani couldn't provide independent evidence to back up his bold assertions.
Mediaite reports:
“Give me some names,” he reportedly said to Giuliani and Mark Meadows. “You need to put it in writing. You need to show me the evidence.”
According to the book, Graham privately gave “a withering assessment” to the credibility of the idea that there was enough rampant election fraud to swing the election away from Trump. He was quoted saying the claims “were suitable for ‘third grade.'”
Trump's legal team eventually presented Graham with several memos questioning the vote in a number of battleground states. The book outlines several red flags that were reportedly evident in these findings, and when Graham passed them off to one of his top lawyers for his take, attorney Lee Holmes was similarly unconvinced of their merits.
“Holmes found the sloppiness, the overbearing tone of certainty, and the inconsistencies disqualifying,” the book says. “The memos, he determined, ‘added up to nothing.'”
Ultimately, both Graham and Lee voted to certify the election results.
