BREAKING NEWS: Supreme Court says Lindsey Graham MUST testify before Georgia grand jury in criminal inquest into effort to overturn 2020 election
- South Carolina Senator Lindsey Graham is scheduled to testify on November 17
- He asked the Supreme Court to bar him from the Atlanta grand jury
- A Georgia district attorney is investigating alleged efforts by Donald Trump and his allies to overturn President Joe Biden’s 2020 victory there
- Graham is not a target of the criminal investigation, but District Attorney Fani Willis is interested in two alleged conversations he had with Georgia election officials
- Late last month, Conservative Justice Clarence Thomas temporarily blocked Graham’s testimony, although Tuesday’s decision overturns that ruling
The Supreme Court on Tuesday refused to grant South Carolina Senator Lindsey Graham an emergency stay to keep him from testifying in an investigation into efforts by Donald Trump and his allies to defeat the 2020 presidential election to fall.
The Republican lawmaker is currently scheduled to testify before a grand jury in Atlanta on November 17.
Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis convened the grand jury to investigate alleged attempts to overturn the results of Georgia’s 2020 election count.
The Peach State narrowly went to President Joe Biden and was crucial to his overall victory.
Graham had previously attempted to use his elected office through the “speech and debate clause” to block the grand jury’s subpoena in July. The provision allows legislators to avoid making statements about legislative work.
His argument was recently struck down by the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals on Oct. 20.
It reached the Supreme Court shortly thereafter, where Conservative Justice Clarence Thomas granted Graham a temporary stay while the Supreme Court fully considered his request.
Thomas was able to act unilaterally because the 11th Circuit Court falls within his jurisdiction.
South Carolina Republican Senator Lindsey Graham’s motion to delay his testimony in the Georgia 2020 election investigation was denied by the Supreme Court
!['[A] a stay or restraining order is not required to preserve the immunity of the senator's speech or debate clause,](https://www.spamchronicles.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/1667382804_126_Supreme-Court-says-Lindsey-Graham-MUST-testify-before-Georgia-grand.jpg "Supreme Court says Lindsey Graham MUST testify before Georgia grand jury in 2020 election inquiry 4")
‘[A] a stay or restraining order is not required to preserve the immunity of the senator’s speech or debate clause,” the order said, without formal objection
But Tuesday’s decision reverses Thomas’s order, ruling that Graham can be compelled to testify on non-legislative matters or anything unrelated to his work as a senator.
‘[A] a stay or restraining order is not required to preserve the immunity of the senator’s speech or debate clause,” the order said.
However, it leaves him room to avoid answering questions before the grand jury that might fall within the scope of his duties in Congress.
But it’s not clear that much of what Graham is grilled about will fall into that category, after the lower courts that ordered him to testify also ruled that Willis “must not ask about investigative actions.”
There was no formal objection from either the six conservative judges or three liberals.
The latest ruling is likely to bring relief to those who feared Graham’s success could be a roadmap for other powerful Trump allies to avoid testifying in criminal or civil investigations – some of which the ex-president is currently involved in.
When approached by for comment, Graham’s office released a statement that presented the verdict as a victory of sorts and reiterated Willis’ inability to question him on legislative matters.
“Today the Supreme Court confirmed that the Constitution’s speech or debate clause applies here. They also confirmed that Senator Graham “can return to district court” if the district attorney seeks to ask questions about his constitutionally protected activities,” Graham’s office said.
“The senator’s legal team intends to work with prosecutors on the next steps to ensure respect of this constitutional immunity.”
Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis is investigating alleged attempts by Donald Trump and his allies to overturn the 2020 Georgia election results
The unilateral ruling appeared to have no formal contradiction and overturned an earlier preliminary decision by Judge Clarence Thomas to stop Graham’s testimony
According to WSB-TV, Graham’s testimony was first ordered for Aug. 2 by Fulton County Superior Court Justice Robert McBurney.
McBurney ruled in July that Graham was a “necessary and essential witness” in the investigation, although he was never targeted.
What sparked the Fulton County investigation was a now-infamous phone call between Trump and Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger, in which the then-president urged the GOP official to “find” the number of votes he needed to win Biden’s to overcome narrow election victory there.
Raffensperger recorded the call, to Trump’s surprise at the time.
A July court filing reveals that Willis believes Graham made at least two phone calls to Raffensperger and his associates shortly after the 2020 presidential election.
Willis accused Graham of “questioning Secretary Raffensperger and his staff to re-examine certain absentee ballots cast in Georgia to examine the possibility of a more favorable outcome for former President Donald Trump.”
He “also referred to allegations of widespread voter fraud in the November 2020 Georgia election that are consistent with public statements by known Trump campaign partners,” the prosecutor said.