Advertisement

U.S. Sen. Lindsey Graham testimony in 2020 election probe put on hold

Click to play video: 'Judge orders US DOJ to redact Trump search warrant affidavit for public release'
Judge orders US DOJ to redact Trump search warrant affidavit for public release
Questions continue to swirl about what was in the highly-classified documents found during an FBI search of Mar-a-Lago. A U.S. judge has signalled he’s willing to unseal the affidavit supporting the search warrant on former president Donald Trump’s Florida home. Jackson Proskow has the latest on the long list of legal woes facing Trump – Aug 18, 2022

A federal appeals court on Sunday agreed to temporarily put on hold a lower court’s order requiring that U.S. Sen. Lindsey Graham testify before a special grand jury that’s investigating illegal plots to overturn Donald Trump’s 2020 presidential election loss in Georgia.

A subpoena had instructed the South Carolina Republican to appear before the special grand jury on Tuesday.

U.S. District Judge Leigh Martin May had denied Graham’s request last Monday to quash his subpoena and on Friday rejected his effort to put her decision on hold while he appealed. Graham’s lawyers then appealed to the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals.

On Sunday, a three-judge panel of the appeals court issued the order temporarily pausing May’s order declining to quash the subpoena. The panel sent the case back to May to decide whether the subpoena should be partially quashed or modified because of protections granted to members of Congress by the U.S. Constitution.

Story continues below advertisement

Once May decides that issue, the case will return to the 11th Circuit for further consideration, according to the appeals court order.

For news impacting Canada and around the world, sign up for breaking news alerts delivered directly to you when they happen.

Get breaking National news

For news impacting Canada and around the world, sign up for breaking news alerts delivered directly to you when they happen.
By providing your email address, you have read and agree to Global News' Terms and Conditions and Privacy Policy.

Graham’s representatives did not immediately respond Sunday to messages seeking comment on the appellate ruling. A spokesperson for Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis declined to comment.

Willis opened the investigation early last year, prompted by a Jan. 2, 2021, phone call between Trump and Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger. During that conversation, Trump suggested Raffensperger could “find” the votes needed to overturn his narrow loss in the state.

Click to play video: 'Liz Cheney loses Wyoming’s Republican primary, Alaska’s Lisa Murkowski heads to midterms'
Liz Cheney loses Wyoming’s Republican primary, Alaska’s Lisa Murkowski heads to midterms

Willis and her team have said they want to ask Graham about two phone calls they say he made to Raffensperger and his staff shortly after the 2020 general election. During those calls, Graham asked about “reexamining certain absentee ballots cast in Georgia in order to explore the possibility of a more favorable outcome for former President Donald Trump,” Willis wrote in a petition seeking to compel his testimony.

Story continues below advertisement

Graham also “made reference to allegations of widespread voter fraud in the November 2020 election in Georgia, consistent with public statements made by known affiliates of the Trump Campaign,” she wrote.

During a hearing earlier this month on Graham’s motion to quash his subpoena, Willis’ team argued that Graham may be able to provide insight into the extent of any coordinated efforts to influence the results of the 2020 general election in Georgia.

Sponsored content

AdChoices