Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) on Sunday defended the indictment of former FBI director James Comey with an eyebrow-raising reference to one of the most salacious and long-debunked rumors about President Donald Trump.
Comey was charged last week with one count of making false statements and one count of obstruction of justice, just days after Trump publicly demanded that Attorney General Pam Bondi pursue criminal charges against him and his other perceived political rivals.
Graham told Fox News’ Maria Bartiromo that the case was “a long time overdue” and accused Comey of overseeing “the most corrupt investigation in the history of the country” during the FBI’s 2016 probe of Trump’s Russia ties, which was code-named Crossfire Hurricane.
“For 10 years I’ve been talking to you about this,” Graham said. “Crossfire Hurricane was opened up in July 2016 along the premise that Donald Trump was an agent of Russia, that he had a golden shower experience in Russia.”
The “golden shower” allegation was part of a discredited dossier compiled by ex-British spy Christopher Steele, alleging that Russia had compromising material on Trump, who has repeatedly denied the claim.
Comey was fired by Trump in 2017 while leading the FBI’s investigation into Russia. He denies the allegations against him. Legal experts have questioned the strength of the charges, suggesting that it is a vengeance move by the president.
On social media, critics mocked Graham for what they thought was the unnecessary resurfacing of the rumor about Trump.