WASHINGTON (AP) — The Supreme Court on Tuesday cleared the way for Senator Lindsey Graham’s testimony. georgia survey Possible illegal interference in the 2020 election by then-President Donald Trump and his allies in the state.
The court has lifted the temporary suspension of Graham’s special grand jury appearance, which is now scheduled for November 17.
However, in an unsigned order, the judge noted: Graham Still some questions can be disputed.
“Today, the Supreme Court confirmed that the speech or debate clause of the Constitution applies here. The Senator’s legal team plans to work with the District Attorney’s Office on next steps to ensure this constitutional immunity is honored.”
The South Carolina senator and Trump’s biggest ally argued that constitutional provisions, the speech and debate clause, prevented him from being forced to testify at all.
Fulton County District Attorney Fanny Willis told the judge that “stay delays are inevitably detrimental” to the grand jury investigation.
The lower court dismissed Graham’s plea Pause while the lawsuit goes on.
Orders for Tuesday have been dissolved Temporary suspension placed on testimony by Judge Clarence Thomas while he and his colleagues considered the discussion.
Graham’s legal team plans to contact Willis’ office as to what happens next, according to a statement from the Senate’s office.
Graham, a four-term senator who won re-election in 2020, was first summoned by Willis in July. The district attorney launched an investigation shortly after recordings of a phone call made in January 2021 between Mr. Trump and his Secretary of State of Georgia, Brad Raffensperger, were made public. In that call, Trump suggested that Ravensperger could “find” the votes he needed to overturn the Democratic Party’s narrow loss to Joe Biden.
Willis wants to ask about two calls Graham made to Raffensperger and his staff in the weeks after the election.
During those calls, Graham asked about “reviewing certain absentee ballots cast in Georgia for the possibility of a more favorable outcome for former President Donald Trump,” Willis said. wrote in a petition seeking to compel his testimony.
Graham also “referred to widespread voter fraud allegations in the November 2020 Georgia election, consistent with public statements made by known officials in the Trump campaign,” she wrote. She said at a hearing last month that Graham may be able to offer insight into the extent of coordinated efforts to influence outcomes.
Raffensperger said he took Graham’s question about absentee ballots as a suggestion to discard legally cast ballots. Graham dismissed the interpretation as “ridiculous.” Graham also claimed the phone was protected because he was asking questions to inform him of his decisions regarding the 2020 election and voting to prove future legislation.
A lower court has already told Willis that “no question shall be asked of any investigative conduct”, which is protected by the Constitution.
The judge wrote on Tuesday that their intervention was unnecessary because the court “had determined that Senator Graham may not be questioned for such activities.”
He could also return to federal court if questioning before a grand jury results in a dispute, the judge wrote.
Thomas initially dealt with Graham’s appeal, but, as is customary, Tuesday’s order involved the rest of the court.
However, Thomas never walked away from the case and, in fact, has been a part of every election-related controversy brought to court by Trump and his allies, despite the involvement of the judge’s wife. Virginia “Ginny” Thomasseeks to cast doubt on Trump’s 2020 defeat.
Ginny Thomas, a conservative activist and staunch supporter of Trump, attended a Jan. 6 “Stop theft” rally in Ellipse, where, in the weeks after the election, then-White House Chief of Staff Mark • wrote to Meadows, encouraging him to work on overthrowing. President Joe Biden wins and Trump stays in office.
She also reached out to lawmakers in Arizona and Wisconsin in the weeks after the election, but there was no evidence she contacted officials in Georgia.
Ginny Thomas was recently interviewed by the House committee investigating the Jan. 6 riots. she supported the false allegations Despite the fact that the 2020 election was fraudulent, many federal and local officials, a long list of courts, former campaign officials, and even Trump’s own Attorney General have been accused of massive fraud. He said there is no evidence.