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Transcript: Sen. Tim Scott on ‘Face the Nation with Margaret Brennan,’ July 12, 2026

▶ Watch Video: Sen. Tim Scott on Lindsey Graham’s death: “America certainly has lost a statesman”

The following is the transcript of an interview with Republican Sen. Tim Scott of South Carolina that aired on “Face the Nation with Margaret Brennan” on July 12, 2026.

MARGARET BRENNAN:  We go now to South Carolina Republican Senator Tim Scott. Senator, good morning, and we are sorry for your loss. As Americans wake up this morning, I wonder how you would have them remember Senator Graham, someone who served this country in uniform, but also at the Capitol for so many decades.

SENATOR TIM SCOTT: Margaret, thank you for your condolences. And America certainly has lost a statesman. I have lost a friend. To remember Lindsey Graham, Margaret, is honestly to remember his very humble beginnings. I’m not sure everyone connects the dots on who he is and why he is. His mother dies of cancer 15 months later. His da- dad dies of a massive heart attack. He adopts his 13-year-old sister when he was just 19 years old and a student at the University of South Carolina. And that remarkably hard and harsh beginning would frame his world view. And as a public servant, Margaret, the one thing that we don’t oftentimes think about with Lindsey is he wanted to make sure if you needed help, and he could help, he was there. He wanted to make sure that those who would sometimes feel invisible that they were seen, and he did a- an incredible job in- in South Carolina, providing the kind of public service that you would want to see from your elected official. He- he also understood that he worked for the people of South Carolina, and not he was just a leader of South Carolina. Of course, there is a foreign policy portfolio that’s undeniable that was synonymous who- who we knew him to be in public service, but as a South Carolinian, as a friend, I got to tell you, he was just a witty guy. He was always funny. I’ll tell you one quick story, Margaret. When I first started my South Carolina prayer breakfast in D.C. for those of us who came from South Carolina, I called Lindsey on the phone, and I knew he was not a morning person, and prayer breakfast starts 8:30 in the morning. And I said, “Lindsey, will you come?” He says, “I’m not coming, even if Jesus comes before 10 a.m.” It made me- I just laughed out loud. And of course, at 8:31, who walks through the door? Lindsey Graham. He- he was always committed to the priorities that he thought was important, not just for him, but- but for me. And it’s one of those times when you just know who he is as a person, and then as a public servant, we certainly know him as a fierce fighter on foreign policy as a–

MARGARET BRENNAN: Yeah.

SEN. SCOTT: –person who put on the uniform for 30 years, a colonel in our military, he loved America passionately. He served us brilliantly–

MARGARET BRENNAN: Yeah.

SEN. SCOTT: –and he will be missed undeniably.

MARGARET BRENNAN: Yeah, I want- you know, Senator Graham’s staff said that he had a sudden and brief illness. Do you- do you know what happened? Because it shocked us, frankly, overnight.

SEN. SCOTT:  Yeah, I don’t know the details any more than his staff has released. My hunch was it was a heart attack, but I- I hate to just–

MARGARET BRENNAN: Yeah.

SEN. SCOTT: –give you my opinion on what I’ve heard from people that are close in circle, but I think we’ll have more information over the next couple days. But it–

MARGARET BRENNAN: Yeah.

SEN. SCOTT: –appears to have been a heart attack.

MARGARET BRENNAN: You know, you mentioned the senator’s sense of humor. He would come on this program

SEN. SCOTT: Yes.

MARGARET BRENNAN: –and he would use this platform. He was very clear. He was coming on television because he had a message often for the president of the United States himself that he wanted Mr. Trump to hear. He was constantly flying around the world. I- I wonder how Republican leadership plans to honor his legacy.

SEN. SCOTT: Well, you know, one of the things I think we should do, obviously, that “Southside Prayer Breakfast” is coming up for me later this month. I’m going to rename it in honor of Lindsey Graham, and we’ll now have the “Lindsey Graham Prayer Breakfast” going on for as long as I’m in public service. Number one, number two, as Senate leadership comes together, I talked to John Thune about three- about 4:30 this morning, and he- he and I and John Barrasso and others will find the appropriate way to honor him all week and frankly the rest of this term. I will say that one of the ways we can best honor Lindsey Graham is to understand the importance that he placed on America, American safety abroad.

MARGARET BRENNAN: Yeah.

SEN. SCOTT: If you want to know who he was, he was a person who believed that when you left this country, you should be safe no matter where you go, and no matter what it cost. And that’s why, as a guy who became the budget chair, Margaret, one of the funniest stories I remember sitting there with Lindsey Graham. He said, “I am now the budget chair and I know nothing about money. I know nothing about numbers, but I’m going to do the job anyways.” And as you can tell, we got that budget tool called reconciliation done once–

MARGARET BRENNAN: Well, you know–

SEN. SCOTT: –twice because Lindsey Graham–

MARGARET BRENNAN: –I spoke to Senator–

SEN. SCOTT: –he knew people.

MARGARET BRENNAN: Okay. I spoke to Senator Graham a number of times on Friday when he was in Kyiv, we spoke by phone, and I know–

SEN. SCOTT: Yes.

MARGARET BRENNAN: –he was so excited that the White House was finally going to support this bill he’d been working on with Senator Blumenthal to go tough on Russia and its biggest–

SEN. SCOTT: Yes.

MARGARET BRENNAN: –oil buyers. He said he’d got 85 signatories. He said this is going to- this is going to fly through. Are you going to honor him by making that vote happen, is there a commitment to it?

SEN. SCOTT: Well, Margaret, it’s way too early for me to talk politics and- and about the legislation that Lindsey Graham sponsored. We’ll get busy on that tomorrow. Today, I’m going to stay busy on his legacy and praying for his- his sister and the rest of the country who’s lost a powerful leader. There are many ways for us to honor Lindsey Graham today.

MARGARET BRENNAN: Yeah.

SEN. SCOTT: The best way for me to honor him is to talk about his legacy as a person and as a public servant. No doubt, foreign policy will be one of the ways that we get to honor him. I won’t be specific because, frankly, it’s going to take the whole of leadership to come to the decisions on the way to do that.

MARGARET BRENNAN: Yeah, I just- the excitement in his voice on that one stood out to me.

SEN. SCOTT: Oh- he’s- Margaret, you know him as well as anyone in- in this public forum because he was so committed to public service–

MARGARET BRENNAN: Yeah.

SEN. SCOTT: –and I know your family has been committed to public service as well in the same way that he wore the uniform. And one of the ways that we will demonstrate our commitment to Lindsey, my hope is to focus on the priorities that he had established for this nation from a global perspective, and hopefully the White House, the Senate, frankly, Republicans and Democrats will come together and do the things that we ought to do for the American people, and that will be the best way we can honor his legacy.

MARGARET BRENNAN: You know, I know it is too early to begin talking about who could possibly even try to fill his shoes for the remainder of his term, but I do know that the role Lindsey Graham played was a key one for the party connecting with a president that, frankly, sometimes Republicans have had some tension with. He’d be out there. Remember him saying, “Oh, Margaret, I spent four and a half hours with the president on the golf course yesterday, and here’s what we’re going to do.” Who can step up and help create that connective tissue between the White House and lawmakers now?

SEN. SCOTT: Well, I don’t know anyone who can fill the shoes of Lindsey Graham. The one thing I can say that you just emphasized was the important role that he played in building bridges in life, just as a part of who he was, and that’s why I started off with the story of those who felt invisible, and in his presence you knew you were seen. And we’re going to have an important conversation to come. President Trump is committed to the Republican Party and, frankly, to the Republican Senate. There are disagreements, without any question. But the good news is those disagreements, so far, have made us stronger. And Lindsey Graham being on the phone with the president every single day was helpful without any question. Playing golf every weekend for four hours. How anybody plays golf for four hours, I’ll never know because I’ve never played for two hours. But the truth of the matter is, it was the bond that he forged on the golf course that made him such a powerful advocate for the president and a powerful advocate for us with the president, and so we’ll need that. But more importantly, what we’ll need is a champion who steps up to the plate not for politics, but for serving our country. That is who Lindsey was. He had friends on both sides of the aisle. You’re seeing world–

MARGARET BRENNAN: Yeah.

SEN. SCOTT: –leaders come out across the world for Lindsey Graham, and why? Because he put others first. It is the biblical principle–

MARGARET BRENNAN: Yeah.

SEN. SCOTT: –to let others shine more than you, and he’s done that really well, even in his passing–

MARGARET BRENNAN: Yeah.

SEN. SCOTT: –he is like iron sharpens iron, so one person sharpens the other. We’re now watching the world respond to the impact that Lindsey Graham had, not just here at home in South Carolina, but around the world.

MARGARET BRENNAN: Senator Scott, thank you for your remembrances this morning.

SEN. SCOTT: Yes, ma’am.

Judge in Don Lemon indictment asks to see grand jury records, adding to growing scrutiny of Justice Department cases

By CNN
(CNN) — A federal judge in Minnesota will probe this week whether grounds exist to toss the Justice Department’s case against journalist Don Lemon. It’s the latest example of judges’ growing skepticism of whether the department is behaving ethically behind closed doors in grand jury proceedings.Judges across the country have signaled they are willing to give far less deference to federal prosecutors than in previous administrations and have raised concerns about DOJ’s apparent abandonment of regular practices.Federal judges in Wyoming, Illinois and Virginia have either thrown out charges or seriously admonished federal prosecutors for missteps in front of the grand jury. The botched grand jury presentments have prompted a historical review of cases in Chicago and, in some courts, new rules requiring defendants to be notified when a grand jury declines to indict.On August 18, Minnesota federal Judge Laura Provinzino issued a short but extraordinary order demanding the Justice Department provide her a wide swath of grand jury materials related to Lemon and his co-defendants, including presentations made by prosecutors and case agents, and the totality of communications prosecutors had with grand jurors resulting in their indictments.Provinzino set a Tuesday deadline to provide her with the presentation by federal prosecutors and case agents related to grand juries empaneled in January and February. Further, Provinzino told DOJ to provide any introduction, legal instructions, witness testimony, closing arguments, and answers to questions from grand jurors.Lemon’s team has aggressively pursued obtaining grand jury materials and had asked for either grand jury records to be provided to the defense or, at a minimum, reviewed by the judge privately, citing “irregularities” in the grand jury that resulted in his indictment.“There is substantial evidence of grand-jury irregularities in this case,” Lemon’s team wrote in a recent filing.“Multiple judges, including at the Eighth Circuit, found there was no probable cause to charge Lemon” and his co-defendant Georgia Fort, the filing said.Mark Wolf, a former Massachusetts District Court judge and federal prosecutor, said it is rare for defense attorneys to ask for grand jury transcripts in federal court. It is even more rare that judges grant the motions, he said.“There is a high bar to getting grand jury materials,” Wolf said. “You have to have some direct or circumstantial evidence that there has been some defect in the grand jury proceeding.”In her two-page order, Provinzino wrote that she weighed the necessity of maintaining grand jury secrecy against whether grounds may exist to dismiss the case due to a “matter that occurred before the grand jury.”She did not say she had already found evidence of any misconduct.The Justice Department’s initial attempt to charge Lemon in January for appearing alongside protestors who disrupted a church service in St. Paul, Minnesota, was rejected by a federal magistrate judge, which “enraged” then Attorney General Pam Bondi, according to a source who spoke to CNN at the time.Lemon, a former CNN anchor, was later indicted by a grand jury along with several other defendants, including independent journalist Georgia Fort. Lemon has been charged with conspiring to violate someone’s constitutional rights and violating the FACE Act, which prohibits the use of force or threats to intentionally interfere with someone expressing their First Amendment right to practice religion.Lemon has pleaded not guilty to both charges. His team has aggressively pursued obtaining grand jury materials throughout the case, and earlier this month filed a motion to dismiss the case altogether.Justice Department losing credibilityWolf told CNN he does not believe the Justice Department’s credibility remains intact.“For good reasons, the Department of Justice’s reputation with judges generally has been injured,” Wolf said.In Chicago, defense attorneys urged Judge April Perry to release grand jury transcripts in the highly publicized case against protestors at an ICE detention facility outside the city.After reviewing those transcripts, Perry found federal prosecutors engaged in inappropriate actions, such as interacting with grand jurors outside the proceeding, ordering some jurors to leave in another hearing, and “vouching” to the grand jurors.Vouching is a practice where prosecutors present their own reputation while delivering their case to a grand jury. It is forbidden in grand jury proceedings because the practice effectively asks jurors to trust the prosecutor personally rather than only on the merits of evidence.“I have never seen the types of prosecutorial behavior before a grand jury that I saw in those transcripts,” Judge Perry said during a May 21 hearing.US Attorney Andrew Boutros then dropped the case against the protestors. Later, after reviewing the prosecutor’s conduct, Boutros opted to drop at least two more criminal cases, ordered a historical review of more than 100 grand jury transcripts, and launched reforms such as more training on grand jury presentations.“If I was a federal public defender or a private defense attorney, every case I get that’s indicted, I’m going to file a motion that is asking the judge to review the transcripts,” said Mike Fox, a current Cato Institute fellow and former Colorado public defender.“In my view, at this point, it doesn’t matter in which court it is, doesn’t matter if I have binding case law,” Fox said. “Every single case, the defense attorney should be filing, and the judge should be inquiring.”In May, a panel of three federal judges in Wyoming dismissed felony drug and gun indictments against nine defendants after the judges found the acting Wyoming US Attorney referred to defendants as “bad guys,” and “murderers,” and handed out business cards to jurors outside of the proceeding.Prosecutors opted not to appeal the judges’ order. Later, Wyoming federal prosecutors empaneled a new grand jury which issued a new indictment. The case remains ongoing.Fox believes the remedy is a more engaged judiciary where judges routinely witness grand jury proceedings.The current law doesn’t require judges to listen to proceedings, but some courts are issuing new local rules to ensure greater oversight. This spring, the Northern District of Illinois, where Boutros is US Attorney, enacted a rule requiring grand juries to alert a magistrate judge when a grand jury fails to issue an indictment.A spokesperson for the Justice Department told CNN in an email the executive office of the US Attorney provides training for prosecutors which includes grand jury practice.“On rare occasions where there is an issue, as noted in our Chicago US Attorney’s office, we took immediate corrective action and provided renewed, in-depth instruction on ethics and grand jury practice,” the spokesperson wrote.“Our US Attorneys will always follow the law and prosecute cases without fear or favor. Nobody is above the law, regardless of political affiliation. Beyond that, we don’t comment on pending litigation.”Grand jury presentments in the spotlight last yearLast fall, in the most high-profile and politically charged example of a problematic grand jury presentment, then-interim US Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia, Lindsey Halligan, took a proposed indictment against former FBI Director James Comey through a grand jury on her own. A magistrate judge in Alexandria, Virginia, reviewed the transcript and found Halligan may have incorrectly presented the law to the grand jury. The judge called the debacle “profound investigative missteps … to potentially undermine the integrity of the grand jury proceeding.”Halligan later admitted to a judge the grand jury hadn’t supported the initial version of the proposed indictment of Comey, and the full grand jury hadn’t signed off on the final charging document. That Comey case was dismissed for a separate reason, when a federal district judge determined Halligan wasn’t serving as a legitimate prosecutor. The Justice Department is appealing.But the grand jury handling in the Comey case and other cases continues to hover over prosecutors.Comey’s defense team, for instance, is attempting to pry into grand jury records in the separate, newer case against him, out of Eastern North Carolina. He is charged there with threatening the president by posting on social media a photo of the numbers “8647” written in seashells on a beach.The phrase 86 is sometimes used to say nix or get rid of something. Trump is the 47th president. Comey has denied wrongdoing in the case.“The highly irregular procedures that led to the indictment create a significant risk that the government misrepresented key issues of fact and law to the grand jury,” Comey’s lawyers wrote in a recent court filing, citing federal searches of Comey that they question.If Comey’s defense cannot gain access to the grand jury transcript, they at least want a judge to look at it to check the Justice Department’s work.Wolf said he is deeply troubled by the Justice Department’s recent actions and told CNN he believes it shows the American people that the department will use the law for partisan purposes.“It sends a message that a Department of Justice that should institutionalize our ideal of equal justice under law is not doing that,” Wolf said. “And that means anybody is vulnerable.”The-CNN-Wire™ & © 2026 Cable News Network, Inc., a Warner Bros. Discovery Company. All rights reserved.
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