Lindsey Graham Must Testify in Georgia Election Investigation

Lindsey Graham Must Testify in Georgia Election Investigation: On Thursday, a federal appeals judge denied Sen. Lindsey Graham’s emergency request to stop a subpoena for his testimony from the grand jury in the Atlanta area looking into attempts to rig Georgia’s 2020 election. The South Carolina Republican senator may be questioned on certain subjects, but the 11th US Circuit Court of Appeals ruled with a lower court judge.

The Speech and Debate Clause of the Constitution does not protect legislative activities such as “communications and coordination with the Trump campaign regarding its post-election efforts in Georgia, public statements regarding the 2020 election, and efforts to “cajole” or “exhort” Georgia election officials,” according to the three-judge panel.

The appeals court’s current decision overturns the temporary hold it had imposed on the subpoena while it deliberated Graham’s case. The court, which approved the lower court’s strategy, decided that Graham cannot be questioned about actions relating to any fact-finding he was conducting regarding his decision to vote to certify the results of the 2020 election.

The investigation’s principal investigator, Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis, has said she wants to interrogate Graham about his phone discussions with Georgia election officials while former President Donald Trump and his supporters were trying to overturn the state’s outcome.

The appeals court said that Graham might bring up those problems during his testimony if there was any disagreement as to whether investigators’ inquiries regarding those calls were relevant to the fact-finding he was conducting for the certification vote.

The Speech and Debate Clause, which protects politicians from some law enforcement efforts related to their duty as lawmakers, does not apply to the three other categories of conduct, according to the latest finding.

An 11th Circuit panel comprised of two Trump appointees and one Clinton appointee issued the unanimous decision. Graham has argued that the entire subpoena should be overturned since all of the topics of inquiry suggested by the subpoena were improper.

CNN enquired of his lawyers as to whether he would approach the Supreme Court for instant relief, but they did not react right away. The investigation also obtained the grand jury evidence of former US Senator Kelly Loeffler and former White House Counsel Pat Cipollone, according to the 11th Circuit’s decision in favor of Willis’ investigation, CNN reported on Thursday.

Final Reflections