A Georgia judge ruled that Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) must comply with a subpoena issued as part of an inquiry led by Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis into efforts to overturn the 2020 election results in the state.
Fulton County Superior Court Judge Robert McBurney said Graham would be required to appear before a special-purpose grand jury investigating the actions of former President Donald Trump and his allies on Aug. 2, “continuing through and until the conclusion” of the witness testimony on or before Aug. 13.
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“The court finds that the Witness, based on the substance and timing of the telephone calls he personally made to Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger, is a necessary and material witness in this investigation,” McBurney wrote in a court filing Monday reported by Fox 5 Atlanta. “The Witness’s anticipated testimony is essential in that it is likely to reveal additional sources of information regarding the subject of this investigation.”
Graham’s subpoena highlighted that he had two known calls with Raffensperger following the 2020 election.
“During the telephone calls, the witness questioned Secretary Raffensperger and his staff about reexamining certain absentee ballots cast in Georgia in order to explore the possibility of a more favorable outcome for former President Donald Trump,” the subpoena reads.
Lawyers for Graham blasted the subpoena earlier this month as “all politics” and an erosion of the balance of powers.
“As Chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, Senator Graham was well within his rights to discuss with state officials the processes and procedures around administering elections,” his lawyers, Bart Daniel and Matt Austin, said in a statement.
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Graham’s lawyers also noted that “any information from an interview or deposition” in Fulton County would likely be shared with the House Jan. 6 committee.
Willis has been examining whether Trump or his allies committed crimes during the fallout of the election by improperly seeking to overturn the election in the Peach State. The special grand jury was impaneled in May to aid in the inquiry and issue subpoenas.
Trump has denied any wrongdoing and dismissed Willis’s investigation as another politically motivated “witch hunt.” Other people close to Trump, including his former personal lawyer Rudy Giuliani, have also been subpoenaed in the inquiry.
