Lindsey Graham testifies before Georgia grand jury in election probe - The Washington Post

A sheriff said that Graham entered the courthouse astir 8 a.m.

A spokesperson for Graham did not respond to a petition for remark connected the expansive assemblage proceedings, which are legally secret. A spokesperson for the Fulton County District Attorney’s Office did not instantly respond to a petition for comment.

Graham’s grounds follows an extended ineligible challenge to artifact his quality that went each the mode to the U.S. Supreme Court, which this period declined to overturn little tribunal rulings requiring him to appear.

The South Carolina Republican and Trump confidant was archetypal subpoenaed successful July by the Fulton County territory attorney’s office, which sought to question Graham astir telephone calls helium made to Brad Raffensperger, the Georgia caput of state, successful the weeks aft the 2020 election, and different issues related to the election.

Trump personally urged Raffensperger to “find” capable votes to overturn his decision successful the state, wherever Biden claimed triumph by less than 12,000 votes. Trump has insisted that the predetermination determination was marred by fraud, though aggregate ineligible inquiries person recovered nary grounds of that.

Raffensperger later told The Washington Post helium felt pressured by different Republicans, including Graham, who helium said echoed Trump’s claims astir voting irregularities successful the state. He claimed that Graham, connected 1 call, appeared to beryllium asking him to find a mode to acceptable speech legally formed ballots.

Graham and his attorneys person powerfully rejected that characterization, describing the senator’s interactions with Raffensperger arsenic “investigatory telephone calls” that were meant to pass his decision-making connected whether to ballot to certify the predetermination for Biden and to pass different Senate work.

In tribunal filings, Graham has claimed that his actions were morganatic legislative enactment protected by the Constitution’s “speech oregon statement clause” and that helium should not beryllium required to reply questions from a expansive jury.

In September, U.S. District Judge Leigh Martin May ruled that Fulton County prosecutors could not question Graham astir portions of his calls that were legislative fact-finding.

But May cleared the mode for prosecutors to question Graham astir his coordination with the Trump run connected post-election efforts successful Georgia. The justice besides said Graham besides could beryllium asked astir his nationalist statements astir the 2020 predetermination and “any alleged efforts to ‘cajole’ oregon encourage” Georgia predetermination officials “to propulsion retired ballots oregon different change Georgia’s predetermination practices and procedures.”

A three-judge sheet of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 11th Circuit later upheld that little tribunal ruling. The Supreme Court rejected a last appeal by Graham this month, paving the mode for his quality this week. Graham’s attorneys person said helium has been told helium is simply a witness, not a target, successful the Fulton County investigation.

Graham’s grounds came arsenic the expansive assemblage appears to beryllium nearing a decision successful its work. Jurors person heard grounds from respective Trump lawyers, including Rudy Giuliani, John Eastman and Boris Epshteyn. Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp (R), who besides unsuccessfully sought to quash a subpoena successful the case, appeared earlier the sheet past week.

District Attorney Fani T. Willis besides has sought grounds from different high-profile Trump advisers including Trump’s erstwhile main of unit Mark Meadows; erstwhile nationalist information advisor Michael Flynn and erstwhile House talker Newt Gingrich. All 3 proceed to prosecute ineligible efforts to quash their subpoenas — ongoing appeals that could hold proceedings.

The 23-person expansive assemblage is authorized to conscionable until May 2023. But Willis said earlier this twelvemonth that she hoped the sheet would wrapper up its enactment by the extremity of this year. The sheet does not person the powerfulness to contented indictments, but would marque its recommendations successful a study to Willis, who would past measurement imaginable charges.

During a tribunal proceeding successful Florida past week wherever Flynn was challenging his subpoena, Assistant Fulton County District Attorney Will Wooten told a justice determination are “very few” witnesses remaining.

“The likelihood is that this expansive assemblage is not going to beryllium proceeding grounds overmuch longer,” Wooten said, according to CNN.

Bailey reported from New Orleans and Brown from Atlanta. Ann E. Marimow and Tom Hamburger contributed to this report.