South Carolina Sen. Lindsey Graham’s efforts to avoid testifying before a Georgia grand jury hit a wall on Thursday after a judge once again denied his motion to squash the subpoena and ordered him to appear for testimony.
The judge disagreed with graham’s claim that the calls he made to Georgia secretary of state Brad Raffensperger and other officials were undertaken as part of his official legislative duty and protected by the Speech and Debate Clause.
“The Court is unpersuaded by the breadth of Senator Graham’s argument and does not find that the Speech or Debate Clause completely prevents all questioning related to the calls,” District Court Judge Leigh Martin May ruled while agreeing to set some limits to the questions.
The judge ruled that the senator could be questioned about efforts to overturn Donald Trump’s election loss and any contacts he had with the former president and his campaign. However, may agreed that Graham’s fact-finding efforts during those calls were protected and questions about those would be off-limits.
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“Senator Graham may be questioned about any alleged efforts to encourage Secretary Raffensperger or others to throw out ballots or otherwise alter Georgia’s election practices and procedures,” May wrote. “Likewise, the grand jury may inquire into Senator Graham’s alleged communications and coordination with the Trump Campaign and its post-election efforts in Georgia, as well as into Senator Graham’s public statements related to Georgia’s 2020 elections.”
