Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) on Monday accused NBC of being a “co-conspirator” in an attempt to bring down Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh, criticizing the network for its coverage of assault accusations against Kavanaugh.
“They’ve been a co-conspirator in the destruction of Kavanaugh, from my point of view,” Graham said during an appearance on Fox News’s “Hannity.”
{mosads}Graham attacked NBC for reporting last week that the Senate Judiciary Committee had questioned Kavanaugh about a fourth assault accusation. Senate investigators asked Kavanaugh about an anonymous complaint alleging that he physically assaulted a woman in 1998.
The complaint was originally sent to Sen. Cory Gardner (R-Colo.).
Graham on Monday charged that a Democratic senator leaked the allegation. He also suggested that NBC wouldn’t have reported the alleged assault if the same accusation were made against a Democratic nominee.
“Do you think NBC would’ve done that if this had been a Democratic male nominee? All I can say is that there the journalistic integrity has been destroyed … regarding this case,” he said.
Graham has been a fierce defender of Kavanaugh amid multiple allegations that have been made against the high court nominee. Three women — Christine Blasey Ford, Julie Swetnick and Deborah Ramirez — have come forward publicly to accuse Kavanaugh of sexual misconduct. The Senate Judiciary Committee also questioned Kavanaugh about additional, anonymous allegations.
President Trump last week asked the FBI to reopen a background investigation into Kavanaugh focused on the accusations of the women who have publicly come forward, after Sen. Jeff Flake (R-Ariz.) called for the probe.