WASHINGTON – President Donald Trump said Tuesday that he is aware of the conspiracy theories circulating regarding the sudden death of his friend and ally Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., but asserted that “it would be a waste of the FBI’s time to investigate this matter.”
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In the Oval Office, the president responded to reporters who asked why FBI agents came to Mr. Graham’s home, a few blocks from the Capitol, on Monday after the 71-year-old senator’s death Saturday night.
“I don’t see much evil there,” Trump said. “I know there are all kinds of conspiracy theories floating around, but I think it’s a waste of time if the FBI is doing that.”
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President Trump: “FBI is wasting time investigating Sen. Graham’s death”
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Washington’s chief medical examiner said preliminary examinations of Graham revealed “aortic dissection due to atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease,” or rupture of the aorta due to atherosclerosis.
Authorities are still awaiting the results of toxicology and other tests.
Trump, who was speaking with Iraqi Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi to address the Strait of Hormuz crisis, spoke candidly about Graham’s situation. The senator was one of the president’s closest allies on Capitol Hill, and Trump was one of the last to speak to Graham over the phone the night he died.
The president said he had reviewed all medical reports related to Graham’s death and received an explanation from White House doctors about what happened. President Trump said he was aware that Graham’s father also died from heart complications at a relatively young age.
“They say this is almost undetectable. If you have a really bad back, you can detect it. That’s a sign. It’s a bad sign,” Trump said. “So if you have a guy with a bad back…that’s one of the main signs. And he used to tell me he had a bad back, but no one knew it was because of that. So when it burst, it actually burst.”
NBC News has asked the FBI for comment on President Trump’s recent comments.
On Monday night, Trump was also asked on Newsmax about conspiracy theories swirling about Graham and the possibility that he was poisoned by Russia. Mr. Graham, a key defender of both Ukraine and Israel, had pushed for tougher sanctions against Russian President Vladimir Putin and Moscow, and had just met with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy in Kiev the day before his death.
“If I were just going to answer the conspiracy theory, I’d say yes, but I think he had some issues,” Trump told Newsmax. “And his father passed away at just the same age. … I believe in the racehorse theory, you know, if you have a problem, you have a problem. And he had some problems that were a little bit deeper-rooted and not easy to spot.”
On Monday afternoon, NBC News observed nearly two dozen FBI and other federal agents gathered outside Graham’s tenement house on Capitol Hill. Multiple FBI agents were seen entering the home and taking photos, but no items appeared to be removed.
FBI Director Kash Patel said the bureau is “assisting local authorities” on this matter. And on Monday, two law enforcement officials familiar with the scene said federal investigators were continuing to investigate Graham’s death with great care.
But no new evidence of wrongdoing has emerged since Saturday night, officials said.
On Monday, South Carolina Governor Henry McMaster (R) appointed Graham’s only sibling, Darling Graham, to serve out the remainder of his late brother’s term, which ends in January. Darin Graham is scheduled to take the oath of office on Tuesday afternoon.
