ATLANTA — Crowds in South Carolina booed at the recent 2024 President Donald Trump campaign cancellation — US Senator Lindsay Graham.

Graham, who has been representing the state since 2003, had a complicated relationship with the former president over the years.

This pair has been turned on and off again. In this cycle, the men are friends now, but Trump’s ardent supporters haven’t forgotten the past.

“We are going to love (Graham),” Trump said during his speech. Gathering in early Julyaccording to Politico. “I know it’s half and half. , he’s a good man. We know the good ones.”

Before the Jan. 6 Capitol riots, Graham apparently tried to help Trump as he contested his 2020 defeat.

Graham allegedly called Georgia Secretary of State Brad Ravensperger at least twice about absentee ballots and voter fraud. They disagreed on what exactly happened and what was said during the conversation.

The calls came to the attention of Fulton County prosecutors investigating whether Trump and his allies criminally interfered in the 2020 Georgia election.

Related: Fulton County may set up new grand jury to indict Trump over 2020 Georgia election

Who is Lindsay Graham?

Before becoming a Trump ally, Graham was an outspoken critic.

The first disgust stemmed from Trump’s comments about John McCain, a senator from Arizona and a close friend of Graham’s.

Mr. Graham — elected to Congress in 1993 after serving in the U.S. Air Force and several years in national politics — became friends with McCain Bill Clinton’s impeachment proceedings.

After Mr. Graham became a senator in 2003, the two began working together frequently.

In July 2015, President Trump said McCain was not a war hero. Mr. Graham, who was aiming for the Republican nomination at the time, Called President Trump ‘Jack***’In response, Trump called Graham an “idiot” and gave him the cell phone number of a South Carolina Republican during the rally. CNN report.

The relationship did not improve until the two met in March 2017. Graham remained a staunch defender of Trump in the years that followed, even though Trump shot McCain after his death in August 2018, a Republican from Arizona.

Questions kept coming about what had happened to Graham and what had changed.

Senator said About staying “relevant”. An old friend, Mr. McCain, also got into the political game when it came time for re-election, he said.

“Well, from my perspective, if you know anything about me, it would be crazy not to do this,” Graham said. new york times magazine “I’ve had the opportunity to work with the president here to do something really good for the country.”

As the 2020 ballots were being counted in Georgia, Mr. Graham was still on the president’s side.

What did Graham do in Georgia?

Graham called Ravensperger twice and caught the attention of the Fulton County Prosecutor. Court filings seeking the senator’s testimony before a special purpose grand jury outline the charges.

According to court papers, Graham told Ravensperger and his staff on November 13, 2020, that “certain types of investments have been made in Georgia to explore the possibility of a more favorable outcome for Trump.” “reinvestigating absentee ballots.”

Graham also filed “widespread voter fraud allegations,” according to the filing.

Raffensperger has spoken of Graham’s call many times.

In November 2020, Georgia’s election administrator said: CNN Graham hinted that the state should do this Try throwing out some absentee ballots.

“He asked if ballots could be checked and returned to voters,” Ravensperger said. CNN. “And looking at the counties with the most signature errors, it felt like it was implied that any county could revoke the signature. That’s the impression I got.”

Graham denied those allegations.

In testimony before the House Select Committee on the Jan. 6 attacks, Mr. Ravensperger testified that he was “uncomfortable” with the way Mr. Graham asked questions.

According to Raffensperger’s published testimony, Graham referred to the process credit card companies use to verify signatures, and a similar machine read to 150,000 Fulton County absentee ballots. suggested that the process might be in use.

“I had no idea where this was going to lead,” he said. “My concern was that ballots had already been processed by the county, so would it disenfranchise voters?”

Mr. Ravensperger told Mr. Graham that he planned to discuss it with attorneys in the Secretary of State’s Office, but Mr. Graham never spoke to him again about the matter.

Graham will eventually have to speak about the call before a special purpose grand jury investigating possible criminal interference in the 2020 election.

Republicans in South Carolina tried to avoid testifying and took the case all the way to the Supreme Court.Graham Testimony November 2022He spent just over two hours in front of a jury, according to his agency.

Indictments related to the 2020 election investigation are due by Sept. 1. Fulton County District Attorney Fanny Willis hinted that a decision on the charges could be made in early or mid-August.

Selection of the two grand juries who can hear the evidence begins Tuesday.