ATLANTA — A federal court judge could decide Friday if South Carolina Sen. Lindsey Graham has to testify before a special grand jury investigating possible criminal election interference.
Graham’s attorneys say he’s immune from testifying.
His attorneys, including former White House counsel Don McGahn are trying to convince the judge that Graham is protected by Congressional privilege.
The Fulton County District Attorney’s Office insists he’s not.
Only Channel 2 Action News was there when Graham’s legal team walked into the federal courthouse Wednesday.
Channel 2′s Richard Elliot asked the team if they were there to represent Graham. McGahn simply answered “We are.”
At question is whether Graham has to testify before the special purpose grand jury investigating potential criminal interference in Georgia’s 2020 election.
Graham called Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger’s office in the days after the election. His attorneys insist the calls were a “legislative act” and part of his congressional fact-finding duties.
But Fulton County Assistant District Attorney Don Wakeford pushed back in court, saying, “We’re talking about a Senator from South Carolina calling a Georgia state level official. How is that a legislative act?”
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Wakeford said Raffensperger told them Graham pressured him to toss out certain absentee ballots to tip the election to Trump.
Judge Leigh Martin may seem to agree.
“The subpoena refers to information which, to me, are outside these information gathering questions,” Martin told the court.
But Graham’s attorneys insist the senator cannot be compelled to testify.
The hearing comes just a day after a Fulton County judge ordered Rudy Giuliani, Trump’s former attorney, to come testify before that grand jury.
Giuliani claimed he was too sick to travel by air. But after prosecutors showed evidence he’d been traveling by car, the judge ordered him to appear next week.
“I’m confident he can figure out a way short of Greyhound that will get him to Atlanta, that’s not an airplane,” Fulton County Superior Court Judge Robert McBurney said.
Martin said she’ll make a decision on this case either Friday or Monday.
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