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HOO, ETYMOLOGY AND CONFIDENCE TRICKS. THIS IS MY TIME TO SHINE.

There are three things you need to understand here:

1. Pigs are valuable animals that increase in value from birth.

2. Cats, though amazing, are cheap and plentiful.

3. A "poke" is a bag.
Somebody who is selling a "pig in a poke" is someone who has a bag and they say it's a piglet. You can tell there's something in there, it's wriggling. Can't open it here, pig will run wild. Healthy little thing, barely caught it the last time it got out.
Now, obviously, not just anybody is going to buy a pig sight unseen. But that's part of the trick... you don't want just anyone to buy it, you want someone REALLY gullible to buy it, because they'll listen when you tell them not to open the bag until they are safely home.
Because if they open it up to inspect the goods then and there... well, cat's out of the bag, isn't it? And even if you have their money, now you're in for a fight.
Selling someone a pig in a poke is pretty dated as far as cons go, but the same principle endures in selling someone discount electronics in a box, for instance.
With the electronics, pressure is conveyed by the sense of urgency created by the implication that something illicit is happening. Can't spend too long haggling, can't linger by the van, can't open the box then and there... you don't want to attract attention and spoil the deal.
With the proverbial pig in a poke, the seller makes it clear they don't want to deal with the animal (it's spirited, healthy!) and will settle for a cheap price to be rid of the bother. Too good a deal to pass up, and an alibi for not opening it.
So Graham's implication here -- and he knows it's false, but it's useful -- is that Schiff and the other Democrats were too eager to nail Donald Trump for something, anything, that they got suckered into betting all on a "fake" complaint.

Bought a pig in a poke.
Let me just also point out that the GOP is trying out both "Adam Schiff wrote the complaint himself" and "Adam Schiff was suckered by the whistleblower" at the same time. Watch for how the same people will lean on both narratives as suits the moment.
And for more fun with etymology, check out my newsletter, which you can both read and receive for free.

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