CNN
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South Carolina Senator Lindsey Graham appeared Tuesday before a Georgia grand jury investigating efforts to overturn the 2020 election.
Prosecutors in Fulton County, who are investigating efforts by former President Donald Trump and his allies to overturn the Peach State’s 2020 election results, have long wanted to question Graham about his allegations to Georgia election officials after the presidential election. The call was made because of his interactions with the Trump campaign, according to court documents.
“Today, Senator Graham appeared before the Fulton County Special Grand Jury for just over two hours and answered all questions. The Senator felt he was treated with respect, professionalism and courtesy. Out of respect for With due respect to the grand jury process, he will not comment on the substance of the matter,” Graham’s office said in a statement.
Graham fought for months to have the subpoena dismissed. The Supreme Court ultimately rejected a subpoena to block Republican senators from grand jury testimony.
The Fulton County Sheriff’s Office confirmed Graham arrived at the courthouse around 8 a.m. ET.
While Graham was ordered to appear for questioning, the court left room for the senator to object to certain questions, which could limit the scope of his testimony and response.
Graham has argued that he does not have to comply with the subpoena because he is covered by the Constitution’s speech or debate clause, which shields lawmakers from criminal or civil action related to their legislative duties.
The court ruled that Graham cannot be challenged over his fact-finding decisions to justify the 2020 election results. However, a federal appeals court noted, “coordination with the Trump campaign regarding its postelection efforts in Georgia, public statements regarding the 2020 election, and efforts to ‘coax’ or ‘coax’ Georgia election officials” does not constitute legislative activity.
After Graham’s 2020 call to Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger, Raffensperger said his impression was that Graham advised him to give up some votes.
“It was just a hint of, ‘Watch carefully and see how many votes you can cast,'” Raffensperger told CNN at the time. Raffensperger has since testified before a Fulton County grand jury.
Graham denied that he had suggested that Raffensperger should cast any votes.
Trump’s former national security adviser, Michael Flynn, who spread conspiracy about the 2020 election, was originally scheduled to testify Tuesday but was granted a temporary stay by an appeals court as he tried to challenge a subpoena.
Eric Herschmann, Trump’s former White House lawyer, was also called to testify Tuesday, according to court documents. It’s unclear if he will show up, though. Other witnesses have been able to negotiate privately to change the dates of their subpoenas or challenge their subpoenas in court. A lawyer for Hirschman did not respond to CNN’s request for comment.
Fulton County District Attorney Farney Willis continues to push for testimony from the small number of witnesses in court that she still hopes to hear at trial. Willis has previously said she hopes to wrap up the grand jury investigation this year. In a separate court proceeding, a prosecutor in her office said the grand jury does not plan to hear longer testimony.
This story was updated Tuesday with more information.