A grand jury in Georgia has subpoenaed Lindsey Graham as it continues to investigate possible criminal interference in the state’s 2020 presidential election.

 

7/5/2022, 9:09 PM GMT+2

https://www.politico.com/minutes/congress/07-5-2022/analyzing-primary-politics/

 

A grand jury in Georgia has subpoenaed Lindsey Graham as it continues to investigate possible criminal interference in the state’s 2020 presidential election.

 

The court also signed off on subpoenas for a host of people in Donald Trump’s inner legal circles.

 

What happened: A judge has signed off on a subpoena for Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) sought by a Fulton County special grand jury looking into possible criminal interference in the state following the 2020 elections, according to court filings reviewed by POLITICO.

 

Copies of the document were first obtained by the Atlanta Journal-Constitution and posted by Georgia Public Broadcasting.

 

He’s not alone: Others landing subpoenas were all advisers to former President Donald Trump’s efforts to flip results in the swing state, including personal attorney Rudy Giuliani, John Eastman, Cleta Mitchell, Kenneth Chesebro and Jenna Ellis. Podcast host Jacki Pick Deason also got one. Judge Robert McBurney of the Superior Court of Fulton County signed off on the document on July 5.

 

What it says: According to the subpoena, Graham made two calls to Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger in the weeks following the 2020 election in which he asked about “reexamining certain absentee ballots cast in Georgia in order to explore the possibility of a more favorable outcome for former President Donald Trump.” It says Graham would be “required” to appear July 12.

 

Why this might not be so easy: Subpoenaing lawmakers for testimony that could even remotely connect to their official government duties typically is precluded by the constitution’s Speech or Debate clause protections. The clause prohibits lawmakers from being forced to submit to proceedings outside of the legislative branch for things that pertain to their responsibilities.

 

We’ve reached out to Graham’s office for comment and will update if we hear back. The South Carolina Republican has previously acknowledged making the call to Raffensperger, but denied exerting any pressure to toss legally-cast votes.

 

— Kyle Cheney and Anthony Adragna