GOP Sen. Lindsey Graham defends Kavanaugh by rightly pointing out that he is 'not Bill Cosby'

Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) stepped into the fray to defend Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh against sexual misconduct allegations that emerged Wednesday.

Graham tweeted earlier in the day that people should be "highly suspicious" of claims from Julie Swetnick, who says she attended about 10 parties in the 1980s where she witnessed Kavanaugh engaging in sexually "abusive" behavior.

"If you went to a party once with people being drugged and gang raped, you wouldn't go to the next nine, you would tell someone," Graham told reporters. "You have an obligation, if you see people being abused, to come forward and say something about it, if not for yourself, for them. So I'm very suspicious of this." Swetnick alleged that "in approximately 1982," she "became the victim" of a gang rape that Kavanaugh was "present" for.

Subscribe to The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

Sign up

Pointing out that Kavanaugh is "not Bill Cosby," Graham reiterated that no "reasonable person" would continue to spend time with Kavanaugh if he was indeed helping to spike drinks with drugs, as Swetnick alleged. Kavanaugh has denied any wrongdoing, calling the claims "ridiculous" and from the "Twilight Zone." He denied knowing Swetnick at all, saying "this never happened." Graham echoed the nominee, saying the latest allegations are "getting into the Twilight Zone."

Asked whether proceedings should be delayed to investigate the claims, Graham said, "No, absolutely not." Watch the moment below, via CNN. Summer Meza