The Supreme Court on Tuesday refused to block a subpoena for Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham to testify before a special grand jury in Atlanta investigating efforts to sway the 2020 presidential election in Georgia.
There were no public disagreements with the order.
The South Carolina senator had filed an emergency motion asking the justices to stop the testimony — currently scheduled for Nov. 17 — pending legal challenges.
Graham will now have to appear for a deposition, although he will have room to object to some questions as they arise, meaning the scope of his testimony or answers may be limited.
In the unsigned order, the justices agreed with the lower courts — noting that Graham could not be asked to speak specifically about issues related to his legislative role. The court also noted that if disputes arise over specific questions, the Senator’s lawyers can object to questions on a case-by-case basis.
“Accordingly,” the Supreme Court said, “a suspension or injunction is not necessary to ensure the Senator’s speech or debate clause immunity.”
That could leave significant leeway for Graham to challenge questions or requests from the grand jury
Graham argued that he should not have to comply with the subpoena because his testimony is barred by the Constitution’s speech or debate clause, which protects lawmakers from certain criminal or civil proceedings connected to their legislative duties.
Critics feared that if Graham prevailed at the Supreme Court, it would encourage other members of Congress to make similar claims in an attempt to protect themselves from testimony. The clause states that “for any speech or debate in either house,” members of Congress “shall not be questioned in any other place.”
Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis said she would like to question Graham about calls he made to election officials in Georgia after the 2020 election. The senator’s attorneys characterized the calls as “investigative phone calls” made to promoting a legitimate legislative activity to inform him of his impending certification decision.
Last week, Judge Clarence Thomas, who oversees the lower courts involved in the case, temporarily blocked the filing. Thomas’ move was an administrative stay likely issued to give the Supreme Court justices more time to consider the dispute.
Willis argued that people involved in the solicitations publicly stated their understanding that Graham suggested or implied in the solicitations that Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger should throw out certain ballots or adopt procedures that would change the state’s election results.
Willis is leading a special grand jury investigation into Trump-aligned efforts to manipulate the results of the 2020 election in Georgia. Her investigation recently secured grand jury testimony from former U.S. Sen. Kelly Loeffler of Georgia and former White House counsel Pat Cipollone, CNN reported last month.
This story has been updated with additional details.
