Prominent former federal prosecutors urged the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals to force Georgia GOP Sen. Lindsey Graham to testify before the special grand jury in Georgia's Fulton County that is investigating efforts to overturn the 2020 presidential election.
Obama White House ethics czar Norman Eisen was among the attorneys representing the ex-prosecutors in an amici curiae brief.
The ex-prosecutors include former Massachusetts GOP Gov. William Weld, who also served as U.S. Assistant Attorney General for the Criminal Division. Former acting New Jersey Gov. and AG John Farmer were also included, as was former Immigration and Customs Enforcement Director Sarah Saldaña and former prosecutors Renato Mariotti and Shan Wu.
"The Superior Court of Fulton County authorized a targeted subpoena compelling Sen. Graham to testify about possible attempts to disrupt the lawful administration of the 2020 elections in Georgia," read the filing. "The district court's decision is correct: Senator Graham is not categorically immune from testifying about non-legislative activity under the Speech or Debate Clause. As the district court explained, even if legislative immunity covers some of the testimony contemplated by the subpoena, it certainly does not cover all of it."
The filing argued that legislative privilege does not apply to non-legislative acts such as Graham's phone calls with Georgia officials.
"The district court carefully assessed the facts, studiously applied controlling precedent, and took appropriate steps to modify the subpoena to safeguard Senator Graham's prerogatives under the Speech or Debate Clause. To the extent Senator Graham harbors any lingering concerns that the district court's order will allow an end-run around legislative immunity, the district court stands willing and able to adjudicate those disputes as they arise— as federal courts routinely do when resolving claims of privilege," the filing read. "Until then, Senator Graham cannot escape questioning for his non-legislative acts by hiding behind the cloak of the Speech or Debate Clause."
