A Georgia judge has ordered Sen. Lindsey Graham to testify before a special grand jury that is looking into former President Donald Trump’s push to revisit the 2020 election results in Georgia.
Fulton County Superior Court Judge Robert McBurney said Mr. Graham, South Carolina Republican, must testify on Aug. 2.
The judge’s certification, first reported late Monday by WSB-TV, described the senator as a “necessary and material witness” to the probe.
The grand jury probe stems from a call on Jan. 2, 2021, in which Mr. Trump told Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger, a Republican, to scrutinize ballot signatures and “find” enough votes to swing the state’s results in his favor.
State election officials said Mr. Trump misunderstood the situation and there was nothing that needed to be re-checked.
Investigators are looking into potential charges related to conspiracy to commit election fraud, criminal solicitation to commit election fraud or intentional interference with the performance of election duties.
Mr. Graham made at least two calls to Mr. Raffensperger seeking information on Georgia’s procedures, making him a witness of interest to the grand jury along with Mr. Trump’s lawyer, Rudolph W. Giuliani.
Mr. Graham still plans to fight the subpoena, pointing to a July 6 statement from his attorneys.
The subpoena, if allowed to stand, would “erode the constitutional balance of power and the ability of a Member of Congress to do their job. Senator Graham plans to go to court, challenge the subpoena, and expects to prevail,” lawyers Bart Daniel and Matt Austin said.
• Tom Howell Jr. can be reached at thowell@washingtontimes.com.
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