After a months-long fight in courts, Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-South Carolina) testified on Tuesday before a grand jury in Georgia investigating interference in the 2020 election.
“Today, Senator Graham appeared before the Fulton County special grand jury for just over two hours and answered all questions,” the senator’s office said in a statement on Tuesday. “The senator feels he was treated with respect, professionalism and courtesy. Out of respect for the grand jury process, he will not comment on the substance of the questions.”
Graham, an ally of former President Donald Trump, tried to block a subpoena issued by Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis seeking an explanation about his role in the efforts to overturn the results of the presidential election.
In 2020, after the elections, Graham made phone calls to Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger, who later said in an interview he had the impression that Graham was suggesting he should discard some ballots.
The senator testified as a witness and he’s not a target of the investigation at this time.
Graham argued for months he could not be forced to testify because he was protected by the Constitution’s Speech or Debate clause, which prevents him from answering questions about his legislative duties.
The Supreme Court recently ruled that he must comply with the subpoena, which represented the end of the legal battle. At the time, the court granted that Graham could refuse to answer questions about topics that could fall under his constitutional protections as a lawmaker.
