Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas stepped in today and granted Sen. Lindsey Graham’s (R-SC) request to temporarily block a subpoena to compel the senator to testify before a Georgia grand jury.
The South Carolina Republican was called to testify before a Fulton County special grand jury looking into Trump’s actions after the 2020 election.
This follows a ruling by a lower appeals court that declined to block Graham’s testimony.
Despite claims from critics on the Left, Thomas’s stay is temporary and normal.
“Without a stay, Senator Lindsey Graham will soon be questioned by a local Georgia prosecutor and her ad hoc investigative body about his protected ‘Speech or Debate’ related to the 2020 election,” Graham’s lawyers wrote.
“This will occur despite the Constitution’s command that Senators ‘shall not be questioned’ about ‘any Speech or Debate.’”
Just in: Clarence Thomas issues a temporary order preventing Lindsey Graham from having to testify in the Georgia election-interference probe. This is not a ruling on the merits — it is an “administrative stay” while further briefing at SCOTUS continues. https://t.co/RCwHYgP8KM pic.twitter.com/OKDWutmS8h
— SCOTUSblog (@SCOTUSblog) October 24, 2022
From CNBC:
Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas on Monday temporarily blocked a subpoena demanding testimony from South Carolina Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham from a Georgia grand jury investigating election interference by former President Donald Trump.
The hold on the subpoena came three days after Graham’s attorneys asked Thomas to delay the senator’s appearance before the grand jury, which is investigating possible criminal interference in Georgia’s presidential election in 2020.
On Thursday, a panel of judges on the 11th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals unanimously rejected a request by Graham to temporarily block the subpoena, which calls for the senator to testify on Nov. 17 in an Atlanta courthouse.
From Yahoo:
Atlanta-based U.S. District Judge Leigh Martin May last month narrowed the scope of questions that Graham must answer from the grand jury, ruling that he is protected from having to discuss “investigatory fact-finding” that he was engaged in during his calls to state election officials.
However, May said he may be questioned about alleged efforts to encourage officials to throw out ballots or alleged communication with the Trump campaign. May rejected Graham’s bid to avoid testifying altogether.
The Atlanta-based 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals on Thursday declined to block Graham’s testimony pending an appeal.
A brief from the Fulton County district attorney (who is seeking Graham’s testimony) is due on Thursday. Expect a decision on the merits sometime after that. For background, here’s our story on Graham’s emergency request seeking SCOTUS intervention: https://t.co/OOBf19V2SM
— SCOTUSblog (@SCOTUSblog) October 24, 2022
