“Temporary” delay in Graham’s Georgia testimony “could be months”: Vance

Senator Lindsey Graham’s testimony before a Georgia grand jury as part of an investigation into former President Donald Trump’s alleged attempts to overturn the 2020 election could last for months after an appeals court issued a temporary delay on Sunday, said attorney Joyce Vance.

Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis launched the investigation in February 2021 into Trump’s alleged election interference attempts in Georgia. Her office has been investigating whether Trump violated election laws by asking Secretary of State Brad Ratffensperger to “find” 11,800 votes following his loss in the battleground state.

The grand jury subpoenaed Graham, a South Carolina Republican, in early July amid reports that he allegedly questioned Ratffensperger about whether political bias could have prompted poll workers to accept ballots with signatures that don’t match and whether he could toss out mail ballots in counties that had a high rate of unmatched signatures—allegations Graham has denied.

The subpoena ordered him to appear before the grand jury on Tuesday. His attorneys have fought to quash the subpoena on the grounds that his status as a senator gives him immunity from being forced to testify.

U.S. District Judge Martin May denied his attorneys’ request last Monday, but the senator was provided a win on Sunday when a federal appeals court issued an order pausing the previous order—therefore not requiring him to testify Tuesday, according to the Associated Press.

The order will essentially send the case back to May, who will consider if Graham’s position as a member of Congress would require the subpoena to be altered, the AP reported.

Vance, who previously served as the U.S. attorney for the Northern District of Alabama, wrote on Twitter Sunday the court’s decision could push back any testimony from Graham for months.

“The 11th Circuit significantly delays Fani Willis’ ability to take Lindsey Graham’s testimony, remanding the case to the district court for it to decide if the subpoena can be quashed b/c of the speech & debate clause. This could be months, not weeks,” she wrote.

Graham’s attorneys, in a statement to Newsweek last month, dismissed the subpoena as “all politics.”

“As Chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, Senator Graham was well within his rights to discuss with state officials the processes and procedures around administering elections,” the statement said. “Should it stand, the subpoena issued today would erode the constitutional balance of power and the ability of a Member of Congress to do their job.”

A call to the Fulton County District Attorney’s office was not answered on Sunday. Newsweek also reached out to Senator Graham’s office.