Lindsey Graham Files To Throw Out Subpoena In Georgia’s Trump Election-Tampering Probe

Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-South Carolina) filed a motion on Wednesday to throw out a subpoena issued by a Georgia grand jury requiring his testimony in its investigation into former President Donald Trump.

Later on Wednesday, a federal judge issued a temporary pause on the subpoena.

The investigation, headed by Fulton County district attorney Fani Willis, sought an interview with Graham regarding two phone calls he made to Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger (R) 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,” Willis wrote in the court filing giving reasoning for needing Graham’s testimony. “The Witness also made reference to allegations of widespread voter fraud in the November 2020 election in Georgia, consistent with public statements made by known affiliates of the Trump Campaign.”

Though Willis’ investigation centers around a January 2, 2021, phone call between Trump and Raffensperger, where Trump told Raffensperger to “find the votes,” the investigators want to know what exactly was said in the phone calls between Raffensperger and Graham because the Georgia secretary of state took a question asked by Graham as a suggestion that he had the power to reject some absentee ballots. Graham has denied proposing the idea.

Graham, who was called to be available to the special grand jury between August 2 and August 31, claimed that he should not be required to testify because his contact with Georgia officials was a part of his job as a legislator. His attorneys argue that Graham cannot be available during the span of August as it would interfere with his job as a senator.

Other subpoenaed members of Trump’s inner circle included his former personal attorney Rudy Giuliani and John Eastman who is credited with being the mastermind behind the legal plan to pressure Trump’s Vice President Mike Pence to reject electors in competitive states during the count to certify President Joe Biden‘s win before the joint session on Congress on January 6, 2021.