The Senate Ethics Committee admonished Senator Lindsey Graham (RS.C.) on Thursday for soliciting campaign contributions for a fellow Republican candidate while at the U.S. Capitol.
Sen. Chris Coons (D-Del.), chairman of the ethics committee, and Sen. James Lankford (R-Okla.), vice chair, wrote a letter to Graham Thursday saying an investigation found their colleague had “directly requested ” Campaign contributions for Herschel Walker, who lost his bid for one of Georgia’s Senate seats last year. Graham did it at least five times during a November 30, 2022 appearance on foxnews while standing in the Russell Senate Office Building.
“The committee is charged with upholding the ethical standards of the United States Senate, a broader and different responsibility from criminal law,” the couple wrote. “The public should feel confident that members use public resources only for official actions in the best interest of the United States, not for partisan political activities.”
“His actions fell short of that standard, resulting in damage to public confidence in the United States Senate.”
Graham admitted to the behavior in a statement later that day, and Coons and Lankford noted that he reported his actions to the panel himself.
“It was a mistake. I take responsibility,” he said. “I’ll try to do better in the future.”
The warning does not carry any penalty.
The committee added that Graham also solicited donations for himself in October 2020 during an unscheduled interview at Dirksen’s Senate Office Building, saying the episode also violated house rules. That incident was dismissed by the panel.
A public reprimand from the ethics panel is rare. The panel last issued a public letter of reprimand in 2018 against Senator Robert Menéndez (DN.J.) and before that he had not done so since he issued one to the then Senator. Tom Coburn (R-Okla.) in 2012.
