Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas has temporarily blocked a Georgia grand jury subpoena demanding testimony from South Carolina Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham in connection with an investigation into Donald Trump’s efforts to overturn the election results in the state.
Trump and his allies, including Graham, had pressured Georgia’s top elections official to “find” him enough votes to overturn the win in the state by President Joe Biden.
A federal appeals court last week refused a request by Graham to delay the subpoena. But Justice Thomas on Monday temporarily blocked the subpoena after Graham’s attorneys asked the conservative justice to delay the senator’s appearance before the grand jury, which is investigating possible criminal interference in Georgia’s presidential election in 2020.
Thoma’s ruling comes days after a panel of judges on the 11th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals unanimously rejected a request by Graham to temporarily block the subpoena, which calls for the senator to testify on Nov. 17 in an Atlanta courthouse.
Graham has argued that the subpoena violates the U.S. Constitution’s speech and debate clause, which protects members of Congress from legal risk from their comments related to legislative business.
He claims his call to Raffensperger after Election Day 2020 was part of a legislative inquiry.
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