Once Donald Trump became the choice of Republicans in 2016, Lindsey Graham quickly jumped on board and became one of Trump's most reliable sycophants. He may be regretting that now. The following is part of an op-ed by Ja'han Jones at MSNBC.com:
A federal judge on Monday rejected Sen. Lindsey Graham’s attempt to evade testifying before a special grand jury as part of a criminal investigation into Donald Trump's efforts to overturn his 2020 election loss in Georgia.
Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis requested the special grand jury back in January to assist in her investigation. The panel issued the subpoena to Graham, a South Carolina Republican, last month — and he's been trying to get out of it ever since.
He's argued his post-election telephone calls to Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger, reportedly about striking so-called “fraudulent” (read: pro-Biden) votes from the official count, was part of his job as a senator. For that reason, his lawyers argued, he should be able to skirt the subpoena.
U.S. District Judge Leigh Martin May in Atlanta strongly disagreed.
“[T]he Court finds that there are considerable areas of potential grand jury inquiry falling outside the Speech or Debate Clause’s protections,” May said, citing the constitutional protections for lawmakers conducting their official duties.
May also said sovereign immunity, a doctrine that protects the government from civil and criminal lawsuits, doesn’t shield Graham from having to testify.
“[T]hough Senator Graham argues that he is exempt from testifying as a high-ranking government official,” May said, “the Court finds that the District Attorney has shown extraordinary circumstances and a special need for Senator Graham’s testimony on issues relating to alleged attempts to influence or disrupt the lawful administration of Georgia’s 2022 elections.”
May said Graham can try to argue particular lines of questioning are protected under the speech and debate clause, but he can’t quash the case completely on those grounds. That makes two judges nowwho have torpedoed Graham’s effort to avoid offering testimony. He's scheduled to testify on Aug. 23.
Graham is learning the pitfalls of being a Trump loyalist. Attaching yourself to Trump’s hip may earn you currency among conservatives — but doing so may very well lead you to engage in nefarious activity. And outside the conservative movement, that is still considered a bad thing. Graham's been in on the “MAGA” grift for several years now, but his testimony in the Fulton County case will be the closest he’s come to facing accountability for it.
