Lindsey Graham defends Kash Patel in heated exchange with CBS host

Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., had a tense enactment connected Sunday during a unrecorded interrogation with Margaret Brennan connected CBS' "Face the Nation."

Graham told Brennan helium was "ready" to ballot to corroborate Kash Patel, President-elect Donald Trump's prime for FBI director, and believes Patel's confirmation proceeding "will exposure him to beryllium a precise qualified antheral of the law."

The remarks came aft Brennan quoted erstwhile U.S. Attorney General Bill Barr's memoir astir Patel.

"Patel had virtually nary acquisition that would suffice him to service astatine the highest level of the world's preeminent law enforcement agency," Barr wrote successful his 2022 memoir.  

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Former U.S. Attorney General Bill Barr is seen during a quality league connected Dec. 21, 2020. CBS' "Face the Nation" big Margaret Brennan quoted Barr's 2022 memoir portion speaking with Sen. Lindsey Graham connected Jan. 19, 2025. (Michael Reynolds-Pool)

Graham said Barr was incorrect erstwhile helium wrote it, and incorrect present astir Patel. He said helium takes his proposal connected the nominee from erstwhile Rep. Trey Gowdy, who worked with Patel.

"Kash was a nationalist defender, helium was a prosecutor, helium worked with Trey Gowdy astir the Russia hoax," Graham said. "So I bash deliberation helium has the experience. He has the spot of the president."  

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President-elect Donald Trump has named longtime state Kashyap "Kash" Patel, who has been a predominant and harsh professional of the FBI, to service arsenic the bureau's adjacent manager successful the caller administration. (Reuters)

"I'm acceptable to ballot for him due to the fact that I cognize him too. See [you] ne'er asked astir the Russia hoax that helium exposed," Graham continued. "People connected the close judge that helium was portion of the solution, not the problem."

Graham past began to speech astir this concern successful the Middle East and its narration to the "world stage."

"You took maine each the mode to Israel from Kash Patel," Brennan said. 

Donald Trump shakes hands with Sen. Lindsey Graham pursuing a gathering with Senate Republicans astatine the National Republican Senatorial Committee bureau successful Washington, D.C., connected Thursday, June 13, 2024. (Al Drago/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

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"You shouldn't interest astir Kash Patel," Graham responded erstwhile Brennan asked astir Patel "going aft journalists." 

"You should interest astir reporting the quality fairly, which you don't bash erstwhile it comes to everything Trump," Graham concluded.

The CBS big past reminded Graham helium is simply a impermanent connected the amusement due to the fact that "we wanted to perceive you out," earlier cutting to a commercialized break.