U.S. Supreme Court’s Thomas temporarily blocks Graham election case testimony
2022.10.24 13:13
© Reuters. Sen. Lindsay Graham (R-SC) arrives ahead of U.S. Attorney General William Barr testifying before a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing entitled “The Justice Department’s Investigation of Russian Interference with the 2016 Presidential Election.” on Capitol
By Andrew Chung
(Reuters) -U.S. Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas temporarily blocked a lower court’s order requiring Senator Lindsey Graham to testify to a grand jury in Georgia investigating whether then-President Donald Trump and his allies attempted to overturn 2020 election results in the state.
Thomas granted the Republican senator’s request to halt the lower court’s decision pending a further order to come, either from him or the Supreme Court. Graham, a Trump ally, filed the emergency application on Friday after a federal appeals court denied his request to block the questioning.
Graham has argued that his position as a senator provides him immunity from having to appear before the grand jury.
Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis has subpoenaed Graham to answer questions about phone calls he made to a senior Georgia election official in the weeks after the November 2020 election.
Last month, a federal judge narrowed the scope of questions that Graham must answer from the grand jury, rejecting Graham’s bid to avoid testifying altogether. Testimony from Graham could shed further light on Trump allies coordinating to reverse the election results.
Trump continues to appear at rallies repeating his false claims that the 2020 election won by Democrat Joe Biden was stolen from him through widespread voting fraud.
