Graham’s lawyers, RSC., had argued that his position as a U.S. senator gave him immunity from appearing before the investigative panel and asked the judge to quash his subpoena. But U.S. District Judge Leigh Martin May wrote in an order Monday that immunities related to his role as a senator do not protect him from having to testify. Graham’s subpoena directs him to appear before a special grand jury on Aug. 23, but he is expected to appeal the judge’s ruling. Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis opened the investigation last year, and a special subpoena-powered judicial panel convened in May at her request. Last month, he filed petitions seeking to compel the deposition of seven Trump advisers and associates. Prosecutors have said they want to question Graham about phone calls they say he made to Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger and his staff in the weeks after Trump’s election loss to Democrat Joe Biden. Graham had argued that a provision of the Constitution provides absolute protection against a senator being questioned about legislative acts. However, the judge found that there are “significant areas of potential jury inquiry” that fall outside the scope of that provision. The judge also rejected Graham’s argument that the principle of “sovereign immunity” protects a senator from being subpoenaed by a prosecutor. Graham also argued that Willis, a Democrat, had not shown the extraordinary circumstances necessary to compel a senior official to testify. But the judge disagreed, finding that Willis showed “extraordinary circumstances and a special need” for Graham to testify on matters related to an alleged attempt to influence or disrupt the Georgia election. The story continues May, the judge, last month rejected a similar effort by U.S. Rep. Jody Hice, R-Ga., to avoid testifying before the special grand jury. Former New York mayor and Trump lawyer Rudy Giuliani had argued that he could not travel to Atlanta to testify because of health problems, but Fulton County Superior Court Judge Robert McBurney, who oversees the special jury, ordered him to appear on Wednesday. A spokesman for Graham, Kevin Bishop, said Monday that the senator had no comment, but referred to what Graham said when asked about the investigation last week. During a press conference in Columbia, SC, Graham said, “We’ll take it as long as it takes” when asked about his efforts to fight his subpoena. “I was chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee and I had to vote on the certification of elections,” Graham told reporters. “This is ridiculous. This weaponization of the law has to stop. So I’m going to use the courts. We’re going to go as far as it takes and do whatever it takes to make sure people like me can do their jobs without fear that some county attorney is going to come after you.’ In phone calls made shortly after the 2020 general election, Graham “asked Secretary Raffensperger and his staff about reviewing certain absentee ballots cast in Georgia to explore the possibility of a more favorable outcome for former President Donald Trump.” Willis wrote in a report. Graham “also cited allegations of widespread voter fraud in the November 2020 election in Georgia, according to public statements made by known Trump campaign associates,” he wrote. Republican and Democratic election officials across the country, courts and even Trump’s attorney general found there was no evidence of voter fraud sufficient to affect the outcome of his 2020 presidential election loss.
Associated Press writer Meg Kinnard in Columbia, SC, contributed reporting.
