Attorneys for Sen. Lindsey Graham say he will not comply with a subpoena issued to him as part of a Fulton County, Georgia, grand jury’s push by former President Donald Trump to overturn Joe Biden’s 2020 election victory in the Peach State .
In a statement provided to The Independent, attorneys Bart Daniel and Matt Austin said Fulton County investigators told them Mr. Graham was “merely a witness” and “neither a subject nor a target of the investigation,” but dismissed the investigation. observed by Fulton County District Attorney Fannie Willis as “all politics.”
The lawyers also accused Ms. Willis of conducting a “fishing expedition” and “working in concert with the January 6th Committee in Washington.”
“Any information from an interview or testimony with Senator Graham will be immediately shared with the Committee beginning January 6,” the attorneys said, although they offered no evidence to support their claims. By law, grand jury investigations are considered secret, and prosecutors can face severe penalties if they divulge information under impermissible circumstances.
“Senator Graham was well within his rights to discuss with government officials the processes and procedures surrounding the conduct of elections,” they said. “If it stands, the subpoena issued today will undermine the constitutional balance of power and the ability of a member of Congress to do their job.”
They added that Mr Graham “plans to go to court, challenge the subpoena and expects to win”.
It is unclear on what grounds Mr. Graham could challenge the grand jury subpoena, which was approved by a Georgia judge who found that Mr. Graham made a December 2020 phone call to Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger, during which the South Carolina senator asked Georgia’s top election official to “review certain absentee ballots in Georgia to explore the possibility of a more favorable outcome” for Mr. Trump, the first Republican candidate who lost the Peach State’s electoral votes after then-Arkansas Governor Bill Clinton defeated George H. W. Bush in the 1992 Presidential Election.
Although the U.S. Constitution’s “speech or debate” clause — which states that members of the House and Senate “shall not be questioned elsewhere” for “speech or debate in either house” — is interpreted , to give members and their staff immunity from prosecution or civil suits for acts done as part of their official duties, Mr. Graham’s call to Mr. Raffensperger was not made in any official capacity.
Spokesmen for Ms Willis and the House select committee since January 6 did not immediately respond to requests for comment from The Independent.
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