Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis requested a judge on Monday to deny Sen. Lindsey Graham’s attempts to quash a subpoena to appear before the Georgia special grand jury probing efforts by former President Donald Trump and his backers to overturn the 2020 election results in the state, The Hill reported.
The South Carolina Republican was first subpoenaed last month, but filed a motion to quash the call to testify, claiming that the investigation is politically motivated.
Willis harshly criticized the senator’s attempts, stating in a filing that his challenge was “built on the shifting sands of erroneous legal arguments, inapplicable legal principles, and citations to case law that fail to support any legal point being made.”
Graham's lawyers have argued that the senator can't be forced to testify because he has "absolute immunity" under the U.S. Constitution's speech and debate clause, which bans asking lawmakers about their "legislative functions," according to Business Insider.
A federal judge, however, rejected that claim.
But a federal appeals court gave Graham a reprieve from testifying and sent the proceedings back to a lower court to determine if the senator should be exempt from answering particular questions due to his status as a sitting lawmaker.
A main call of interest is a reported conversation between Graham and Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger following Election Day in 2020, The Hill reported.
In the case, Willis has also subpoenaed former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani, Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp, Georgia Rep. Jody Hice, and Trump-affiliated lawyers John Eastman, Jenna Ellis, and Cleta Mitchell.
Giuliani was questioned earlier this month after efforts by his lawyers to delay his testimony failed.
A judge on Monday denied a motion from Kemp to quash his subpoena, but delayed the governor's testimony until after the midterm elections in November.
Brian Freeman ✉
Brian Freeman, a Newsmax writer based in Israel, has more than three decades writing and editing about culture and politics for newspapers, online and television.
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