The South Carolina Republican told "Fox News Sunday" host Chris Wallace he agreed with President Trump's decision to give Attorney General William Barr "full and complete authority" to work with the intelligence community in declassifying documents related to the origins of the Russia investigation and the conduct of the Justice Department and the FBI.
Barr's move has drawn strong criticism from former FBI Director James Comey, ex-CIA Director John Brennan, and former Director of National Intelligence James Clapper. Each has said the declassification process could lead agencies vulnerable to revelations about intelligence sources and methods.
But Graham, chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, said it's the ex-intelligence and Justice Department officials who should be on the defensive about their conduct in the 2016 campaign and early into Trump's tenure.
"The people who are worried about this are worried about being exposed for taking the law in their own hands," said Graham, 63, without identifying specific officials.
Wallace pressed him on this, calling these government secrets "the crown jewels of the intelligence community" and saying that critics had raised questions about whether Barr can "be trusted with these secrets" and whether Barr can "be trusted not to cherry-pick the information to make a case for the president."