A federal judge ruled on Thursday that Senator Lindsey Graham (R., S.C.) must testify before a Georgia grand jury investigating former president Donald Trump’s alleged interference in the 2020 election.
The decision comes after a federal appeals court temporarily blocked a district court order compelling Graham to testify. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the 11th Circuit sent the case back to the district court, instructing the judge to decide whether Graham should be exempt from answering certain kinds of questions under the Constitution’s “speech or debate” clause, which prohibits the questioning of lawmakers about their legislative work.
Prosecutors want to question Graham about two alleged phone calls he made to Georgia secretary of state Brad Raffensperger in November 2020. During the calls, Graham allegedly asked Raffensperger to begin by “reexamining certain absentee ballots cast in Georgia in order to explore the possibility of a more favorable outcome for former President Donald Trump.”
Graham has said he had no involvement in the former president’s attempt to “find” votes and secure a victory in Georgia.
On Thursday, Judge Leigh Martin May limited the scope of questions that prosecutors can ask Graham.
“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,” May wrote.
However, she also concluded that some of the calls “may constitute legitimate legislative activity that falls within the protections of the Speech or Debate Clause,” and said Graham “cannot be asked about the portions of the calls that were legislative fact-finding.”
Graham “may be questioned about any alleged efforts to ‘cajole’ or encourage Secretary Raffensperger or other Georgia election officials to throw out ballots or otherwise alter Georgia’s election practices and procedures.”
“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,” the judge added.
The ruling will be reviewed by the appeals court.