“Because the record must be more fully developed before this Court can consider the applicability of the Speech or Discussion Clause to specific questions or lines of inquiry, and because Senator Graham’s only request in subpoenaing this Court was to quash the subpoena in its entirety, the case is REMANDED to Fulton County Superior Court for further proceedings,” May wrote in the ruling.
The South Carolina Republican is scheduled to appear as a witness in Atlanta before a special grand jury on August 23.
Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis, who is leading the investigation into Trump and his allies, told the court that the grand jury needed to hear from Graham about at least two phone calls Graham made to Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger and to his staff. in the wake of the 2020 election.
In Graham’s filing to block the subpoena, his lawyers said the senator’s calls to Georgia officials were legislative activity and that his activities are protected by the Constitution’s Speech and Debate Clause.
“Senator Graham did not insert himself into the Georgia election process and never attempted to change the outcome of any election. The discussion was about absentee ballots and Georgia’s procedures,” Graham’s lawyers said in a court filing last year. month. His contact with Georgia officials “is legislative activity that falls under Senator Graham’s responsibility to investigate and oversee as then-Chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee and a sitting United States Senator who had to determine whether to certify electoral votes before a joint session of Congress. “
Raffensperger told CNN in November 2020 that Graham — a South Carolina Republican who was then chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee — hinted that Raffensperger should try to throw out some Georgia ballots during of a statewide audit.
“He asked if the ballots could be matched with the voters,” Raffensperger told CNN’s Wolf Blitzer on “The Situation Room” at the time. “And then, I understood that he was implying that then you could throw them out for any if you look at the counties with the highest signature error rate. That’s the impression I get.
“It was just an implication of ‘Look hard and see how many ballots you could throw away,’” Raffensperger added.
Asked if he was trying to pressure the secretary of state to cast legal ballots, Graham told CNN at the time: “That’s ridiculous.” Graham said he was trying to figure out how signatures on mail-in ballots for various battleground states were verified.
This story has been updated with additional background information.
