Lindsey Graham just got caught with his proverbial pants down over a bill he cosponsored this week that is a authoritarian nightmare.
Jesse Watters had Graham on his show to ask him about this terrible bill and Graham wasn’t even sure what was in the bill.
Watch:
Lindsey Graham tells @JesseBWatters that he had no idea what is in the Restrict Act, Patriot Act 2.0 that gives the government broad power to spy on Americans, despite the fact that he is listed as a co-sponsor of the bill. pic.twitter.com/UEM1H0TGM5
— Greg Price (@greg_price11) March 29, 2023
Graham laughably says “let me come back and, you know, give you a better explanation.”
The bill has been out since early this month and Graham just cosponsored it two days ago. As Watters suggests, there’s a bunch of Republicans that have cosponsored the bill:
Sen. Thune, John [R-SD]*
Sen. Fischer, Deb [R-NE]*
Sen. Moran, Jerry [R-KS]*
Sen. Sullivan, Dan [R-AK]*
Sen. Collins, Susan M. [R-ME]*
Sen. Romney, Mitt [R-UT]*
Sen. Capito, Shelley Moore [R-WV]*
Sen. Cramer, Kevin [R-ND]
Sen. Grassley, Chuck [R-IA]
Sen. Tillis, Thomas [R-NC]
Sen. Graham, Lindsey [R-SC]
The asterisk indicates the original cosponsors of the bill on March 7. The bill was created by Democrat Sen. Warner, Mark of Virginia.
Greg Price calls the bill a “Patriot Act for the internet” and says it “gives the government the ability to go after anyone they deem as a national security risk at which point they can access everything from their computer to video games to their ring light.”
He says if they find you in violation “they can put you in jail for 20 years, fine you $1M, and seize your property.”
If that’s not bad enough, Price notes “they can also deem any foreign government an adversary without informing congress and everything they do is not subjected to FOIA.”
How could Republicans sign on to a bill like this? It’s supposed to be a bill to just ban TikTok. Did it get changed after they cosponsored it? Or are they really okay with this level of spying on American citizens?