Lindsey Graham said that regardless of whether or not the document and email were fake, that Congress needed answers. | AP Photo Graham: Comey should be 'held accountable'

Sen. Lindsey Graham called on former FBI Director James Comey to be "held accountable" for reports that he knowingly acted on false intelligence, calling the move by the former bureau chief "incredibly incompetent."

CNN reported Friday that while serving at the FBI during the 2016 election, Comey acted on a critical piece of Russian intelligence pertaining to the Hillary Clinton email investigation that he knew to be false.


Speaking on "State of the Union," Graham on Sunday said the report was "stunning" and called for Comey's actions to be scrutinized in response.

"From a Congress' point of view, he never told us it was fake," Graham said. "So, he needs to be held accountable."

According to a Washington Post report published Wednesday, the FBI received a dubious Russian document that supposedly detailed over email an agreement between the Justice Department and the Clinton campaign to muffle the controversy surrounding her use of a private email server. The document, which is now reportedly widely seen as false by intelligence officials, reportedly influenced Comey's decision to publicly discuss the investigation last summer — even though Comey allegedly knew it was false.

Graham said that regardless of whether the document and email were fake, Congress needed answers.

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"If it is not fake, we need another investigation," he said. "Or is, in fact, this a true email? I want to get to the bottom of it. I want to see the email.”

Graham, who is heading a Senate judiciary subcommittee inquiry into Russian election interference, also cited the report as a reason for toughening sanctions against Russia.

"At the end of the day, if the Russians are this sophisticated, we need more sanctions yesterday against the Russians," he said.