Graham says he didn’t meddle in GA election, asks court to throw out grand jury subpoena
South Carolina U.S Sen. Lindsey Graham is asking a federal court in the Palmetto State to throw out a subpoena ordering the Republican to testify in front of a Georgia grand jury investigating possible criminal interference in the state’s 2020 election.
A judge on Wednesday issued a stay on the subpoena with a hearing scheduled for next week.
Graham’s attorneys, Bart Daniel and Matt Austin from the high-profile South Carolina law firm Nelson Mullins, argue the state’s senior senator was within his rights and carried out his duties when he called the Georgia secretary of state to ask about absentee ballots.
“Sen. Graham did not inject himself into Georgia’s electoral process, and never tried to alter the outcome of any election,” Graham’s lawyers wrote in their motion filed on Tuesday. “The conversation was about absentee ballots and Georgia’s procedures.”
A hearing in front of Judge Henry Herlong, Jr. is scheduled for 10 a.m. July 20. in Greenville. Herlong issued a stay on the subpoena Wednesday.
Graham’s lawyers describe the calls as “legislative activity falling under Sen. Graham’s fact-finding and oversight responsibility as the then-chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee and a sitting United States senator required to determine whether to certify electoral votes before a joint session of Congress.”
They have said the subpoena is ”all politics” and is part of a fishing expedition to provide information to the U.S. House Committee investigating the Jan. 6 Capitol riot.
The grand jury wants to hear from Graham about two phone calls he had with Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger after the 2020 election.
Graham had asked if there was a way for Georgia’s 2020 election results to show a more favorable outcome for then-President Donald Trump, according to the subpoena.
President Joe Biden won the state of Georgia in 2020 by fewer than 12,000 votes.
Graham has denied any wrongdoing and recently said he made phone calls to Arizona and Nevada about their election systems.
This story was originally published July 13, 2022 at 5:21 PM.
