Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham.
J. Scott Applewhite/AP
The Supreme Court denied Lindsey Graham’s request to block a grand jury subpoena.
A Georgia grand jury is investigating alleged efforts to overturn the 2020 election.
Graham has been called on to provide testimony.
The Supreme Court on Tuesday rejected Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham’s bid to avoid testifying before a Georgia special grand jury investigating alleged efforts to overturn the 2020 election.
In an unsigned order, the nation’s highest court dismissed Graham’s emergency request to block the subpoena, writing: “a stay or injunction is not necessary to safeguard the Senator’s speech or debate clause immunity.”
Graham claimed that he was protected against the subpoena because of the Constitution’s Speech or Debate clause, which asserts that members of Congress are safeguarded from being questioned about their legislative activity.
Justice Clarence Thomas, who handles emergency matters arising from Georgia, referred the issue to the full Supreme Court after he temporarily halted a lower court ruling ordering Graham to abide by the subpoena. There were no recorded dissents from the nine justices.
The move delivers a victory to Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis, who’s seeking testimony from Graham about reported calls he made to Georgia officials after the 2020 election.
Georgia’s top election official, Republican Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger, has said that Graham called him and asked him to throw out entire counties’ worth of mail in ballots in the state, which then-Democratic nominee Joe Biden narrowly carried. President Donald Trump also called Raffensperger and pressed him to “find” enough votes to swing the state to him.
This story is developing. Please check back for updates.