Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) is firing back at Fulton County investigators, reviving his challenge to a subpoena demanding his testimony.
Last month, the senator withdrew a challenge to the subpoena after Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis argued he filed the challenge in the wrong court and prematurely before a subpoena had been served. Now, Graham is claiming he has been served with the subpoena and is deploying the same legal arguments in his bid to quash it that he made in the original challenge.
LINDSEY GRAHAM TO ACCEPT SUBPOENA IN FULTON COUNTY ELECTION INQUIRY
“Senator Graham has challenged the subpoena to protect the Senate’s interest and in defense of our Constitution,” his office said in a statement to the Herald-Journal. “The speech or debate clause prevents a local elected official from questioning a senator about how that senator did his job.”
Graham hired former Trump White House counsel Don McGahn to represent him in his quest to quash the subpoena, according to court documents. Fulton County investigators expressed interest in testimony from Graham because of calls he had with Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger after the 2020 election.
Similar to his original challenge, the senator argued that he had been acting in his capacity as a senator during his call with Raffensperger and was therefore immune from the subpoena. He argued that the speech or debate clause in the Constitution shields members of Congress from being forced to answer questions about legislative activity.
The senator’s lawyer argued that his call with Raffensperger was merely part of a fact-finding mission about the election, something that was within his purview as a senator.
“These ‘questions about that process’ — concerning electoral integrity and security as well as investigating possible irregularities before Senator Graham voted to certify the results of the 2020 election — are within Senator Graham’s official legislative responsibilities,” his lawyer argued.
Graham was issued the subpoena on July 26 and accepted it the next day, according to his challenge, which was filed in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Georgia. The senator previously filed in a federal court in South Carolina. He is seeking to have the court expedite its evaluation of his challenge because his lawyers say he has been compelled to testify on Aug. 23.
The Washington Examiner reached out to a representative of Graham for comment.
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Graham is one of a handful of key allies of former President Donald Trump who have been subpoenaed in the Fulton County election inquiry. Willis has been investigating whether Trump or his allies engaged in criminal activity while seeking to challenge the 2020 election in Georgia. The investigation was triggered last year following reports of a call Trump had with Raffensperger in which he underscored the need to “find” 11,780 votes to swing Georgia in his favor. Trump has denied wrongdoing and defended his call as “perfect.”
In May, a special grand jury was impaneled to assist with the inquiry. The review also encompasses the sudden resignation of a U.S. attorney in Georgia and heavily disputed assertions former Trump personal lawyer Rudy Giuliani made about the election to the Georgia Senate in December 2020. Key witnesses, such as Raffensperger and Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp, have cooperated with the inquiry.
