Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) says the Republican National Committee should donate or return any money raised by Steve Wynn if the sexual misconduct allegations against the billionaire casino mogul “have merit.”
″Yeah, we should do of ourselves what we ask of the Democratic Party if these allegations have merit,” Graham said on ABC’s “This Week” on Sunday. “I don’t think we should have a double standard for ourselves.”
Wynn resigned his post as the RNC’s finance chair on Saturday, one day after The Wall Street Journal reported numerous allegations of sexual harassment against him that spanned several decades. The accusations ranged from lewd comments and inappropriate touching to soliciting sex acts from women who worked as manicurists and massage therapists in his Las Vegas casinos.
Wynn, 76, has vehemently denied the accusations.
“The idea that I ever assaulted any woman is preposterous,” Wynn said in a statement Friday. “We find ourselves in a world where people can make allegations, regardless of the truth, and a person is left with the choice of weathering insulting publicity or engaging in multi-year lawsuits.”
The RNC has been noticeably silent on what they will do with money raised by Wynn, despite quickly calling on the Democratic National Committee to return contributions from Hollywood mogul Harvey Weinstein, a major Democratic fundraiser, after the flood of sexual misconduct allegations against him in early October.
The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee and several Democratic lawmakers, including Sen. Chuck Schumer of New York and Sen. Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts, returned or donated Weinstein’s contributions shortly after news broke of the allegations.
But their Republicans counterparts haven’t made any such announcements about Wynn’s contributions. Graham said Sunday that RNC chair Ronna McDaniel should be given “a chance to see how deep” the Wynn allegations go first.
“If it’s ― you know, the allegations have merit, then we should return the money like we asked of the Democrats,” Graham said.