After losing the 2020 presidential election, South Carolina Senator Lindsey Graham must appear before a grand jury in Georgia investigating former President Donald Trump’s actions.
Graham had argued to a federal court that he was engaged in “legislative conduct” when he phoned Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger twice after the election. In court documents, attorneys for Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis said that Graham was phoning to “explore the likelihood of a more favorable conclusion for Trump.”
Monday, U.S. District Judge Leigh Martin May stated in her decision that Graham’s status as a senator does not insulate him from the Fulton County special grand jury.
“Individuals on the conversations have publicly claimed that Senator Graham was proposing or hinting that Georgia election officials modify their methods or otherwise possibly impact the state’s results,” May wrote.
May ordered Graham to appear before the special grand jury on August 23 as a witness.
The court ruled, “[The Court] believes that the District Attorney has shown unusual circumstances and a unique necessity for Senator Graham’s evidence.”
May’s ruling devotes 11 pages to Graham’s claim that the Speech or Debate Article of the Constitution prohibits senators from being forced to testify. She said that “the Supreme Court has specifically rejected a broad construction of the Speech or Debate Clause that would include activity merely’related’ to the legislative process.”
“The Supreme Court has acknowledged that there are a variety of actions that fall beyond the purview of protected legislative conduct because they are ‘political in character as opposed to legislative,’” May wrote.
Graham’s office said Monday that he will appeal the decision.
Graham’s office said, “Senator Graham did his due diligence before to the Electoral Count Act certification vote, where he voted to certify the election.” “Although the district judge accepted that the Speech or Debate Clause may shield parts of Senator Graham’s actions, she disregarded the language of the Constitution and established Supreme Court precedent.”
The district attorney for Fulton County refused to comment on the judgment.
Graham’s counsel said in their move to dismiss the subpoena that he “was engaged in quintessentially legislative factfinding”
President Joe Biden won Georgia by a margin of less than 12,000 votes, or 0.5%. Graham had previously confirmed the phone conversations and denied any impropriety, stating on “Face the Nation” in January that he “inquired about how the system operated in regards to mail-in balloting and voting.”
Graham is among a number of Trump associates summoned by the Fulton County special grand jury since May. The grand jury has also heard from Georgia state officials who refused the former president’s efforts to reverse the election. On Wednesday, former New York City mayor Rudy Giuliani, who served as Trump’s personal attorney after the election, is slated to testify before the special grand jury.
Giuliani had urged the judge in charge of the special grand jury to postpone his appearance because he had had a cardiac stent procedure earlier this summer, citing a New York City physician who said Giuliani is not approved for plane travel. The judge, Robert McBurney, denied Giuliani’s motion and advised him go to Atlanta by rail, bus, or Uber, whatever was most convenient.
The orders ordering Graham and Giuliani come as a variety of high-profile investigations intensify their focus on Trump. A court in New York City refused on Friday to dismiss criminal tax fraud allegations against Trump’s corporation and its former chief financial officer. Two days before, at a court-ordered deposition in an expansive civil fraud investigation led by New York Attorney General Letitia James, Trump invoking the Fifth Amendment hundreds of times. The deposition took place two days after the FBI raided Trump’s Mar-a-Lago estate for allegedly inappropriately removed top-secret materials from the White House. In one instance, federal officials are examining whether Trump violated three criminal crimes, including the Espionage Act.