COLUMBIA, S.C. — A hearing to decide whether U.S. Sen. Lindsey Graham will be forced to testify about possible 2020 election interference in front of a Georgia grand jury will take place in Georgia instead of South Carolina.
A hearing scheduled for Wednesday in Charleston to discuss Graham’s request to throw out the subpoena was canceled after his lawyers and the Fulton County District Attorney’s Office agreed that any challenges to the subpoena would be heard in Fulton County Superior Court or the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Georgia.
A Fulton County grand jury investigating possible criminal interference in Georgia’s 2020 election wants to hear from Graham about two post-election phone calls he had with Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger.
Graham had asked a federal court in South Carolina to throw out the subpoena, even though he is not a target of the investigation and only considered a witness, his lawyers have said.
Graham challenged the subpoena, which his lawyers called “all politics” and part of a fishing expedition to provide information to the U.S. House committee investigating the Jan. 6 Capitol riot. Graham’s lawyers also argue the calls were part of Graham’s legislative activities and responsibilities as then-chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee.
According to the subpoena, Graham asked Raffensperger and his staff “about reexamining certain absentee ballots cast in Georgia in order to explore the possibility of a more favorable outcome” for former President Donald Trump.
President Joe Biden won Georgia by fewer than 12,000 votes.
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