Washington — President Trump said the FBI is “wasting their time” if they’re looking into “conspiracy theories” about Sen. Lindsey Graham’s death, tamping down speculation that anything other than Graham’s heart issues led to his death at age 71 over the weekend.
Read more Supreme Court justices push Congress to boost security funding: “Threats have come very close”
In the Oval Office Tuesday, a reporter asked the president if he was aware of why the FBI was involved. FBI Director Kash Patel said Sunday that the FBI was “assisting local authorities.”
“Well, I don’t know why, because I think, you know, he had a problem,” the president said of Graham. “His father had a very similar problem, as you know.” Graham’s father died of a heart attack at 69.
The medical examiner’s preliminary findings indicated Graham’s death was caused by an aortic dissection, a tear in the wall of the aorta.
“I wish he took better care of himself,” the president said, adding that Graham’s condition was “very hard to detect.”
Mr. Trump, who just turned 80, said he had doctors from the White House explain to him what likely happened to Graham.
Multiple sources who spoke with Graham shortly before his death told CBS News that he had complained of chest pains.
Graham had just returned from a trip to Ukraine, and his hardline stances against Russia and Iran prompted speculation online that perhaps a foreign actor may have been involved in his death — something Mr. Trump sought to dismiss.
“So I don’t see a lot of evil there,” the president said. “I know there’s all sorts of conspiracy theories going along. And I don’t think the FBI — I think the FBI’s wasting their time if they’re doing that.”
Read more E. Jean Carroll receives $5.62 million sex abuse, defamation payment from Trump after yearslong wait