Lindsey Graham asks court to agree he's too important to testify in Georgia election investigation

[babylonsister]

https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2022/8/1/2113898/-Graham-s-lawyers-insist-his-pressure-on-Georgia-election-officials-was-legislative-factfinding

Lindsey Graham asks court to agree he's too important to testify in Georgia election investigation
Laura Clawson
Daily Kos Staff
Monday August 01, 2022 · 3:24 PM EDT
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Sen. Lindsey Graham is challenging a subpoena to testify before a Fulton County, Georgia, special grand jury investigating attempts to overturn the 2020 presidential election in the state. Graham’s legal objections to the subpoena basically boil down to “Suck it, I’m a U.S. senator,” although, of course, more legal verbiage is involved.

The investigation is being conducted by Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis, seeking answers on whether Donald Trump or any of his allies broke the law as they tried to get the results of the election reversed. Graham made at least two phone calls to Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger or his staff, asking them to take another look at absentee ballots “to explore the possibility of a more favorable outcome for former President Donald Trump,” Willis wrote in a court filing.

A Fulton County judge previously ordered Graham to testify, but he’s trying to get his objection moved to a federal court.

According to an answering court filing by Graham’s lawyers, he “was engaged in quintessentially legislative factfinding—both to help him form election-related legislation, including in his role as then-Chair of the Judiciary Committee, and to help inform his vote to certify the election.”

Yeah, sure. He just so happened to be engaged in quintessentially legislative fact-finding in one of the closest states, which involved contacting the exact same state official Trump called in an effort to pressure to “find 11,780 votes, which is one more than we have.”

The U.S. Constitution, Graham’s lawyers say, “provides absolute protection against inquiry into Senator Graham’s legislative acts.” Or, they want the court to agree, his coup attempts disguised as legislative acts. That’s not all, though. “Sovereign immunity,” they say, prohibits a local prosecutor from summoning a U.S. senator “to face a state ad hoc investigatory body”—or, in translation, “Our client is more important than you.” They also argue that Willis hasn’t shown “the ‘extraordinary circumstances’ necessary to order a high-ranking federal official to testify.”

This is the “DO YOU KNOW WHO I AM??? I AM A UNITED STATES SENATOR” of legal filings combined with the strenuous whitewashing of a coup attempt into a non-extraordinary circumstance of simple legislative fact-finding.

Rep. Jody Hice has similarly tried to get out of his subpoena to testify in Willis’ investigation, with a federal judge rejecting his attempt to quash the subpoena. Graham’s subpoena calls on him to appear on Aug. 23, so he’s asking the judge for an expedited decision.

[AllaN01Bear]

1. me eye .

[PJMcK]

2. Graham will have to testify

There is simply no excuse for him to avoid it.

What's been remarkable to me is how many of the Trump-appointed judges have ruled against Trump's effort to corrupt our legal system. Those judges, as horrible as some of them are, have demonstrated that they still have respect for the law.

Graham is caught in his own web of deceit. He'll have to testify and he's terrified of having to take the Fifth and be exposed for the lackey and seditionist that he is.

[Emile]

3. He might as well testify. Won't be long the DOJ

will be sending him a subpoena too.

[msfiddlestix]

4. DOJ is about to subpoena Graham?!!! That's fantastic!

I didn't expect them to go forward with this.

[Lovie777]

5. Nothing new ......

majority of Relublicans think they are above the law.

[Irish_Dem]

6. The GOP power elite should at least pretend to follow some US laws and traditions.

I know that the GOP elite are totally above the law.

But it is not a good look for them right now.

[AlexSFCA]

7. he is the least important person in congress, literally does nothing meaningful

[leftieNanner]

12. I don't know

Rand Paul might give him a run for his money on that one!

[ancianita]

8. Nice reference to "Shooter" there.

Thanks for your informative post. trumpism is the poison of justice

[Warpy]

9. He really needs to find out he's not as important as he thinks he is

When they do haul his overprivileged ass in there, he won't remember a thing, not even the threat TFG made to him during that infamous golf game at Mara Lardo that turned him into TFG's best buddy.

I just wish Epstein's DVD library hadn't been disappeared so efficiently by the NYPD and the Feds.

[rubbersole]

10. The Epstine DVD library is safe...

In the possession of Bill Barr. He and Leonard Leo have watch party sleep-overs 🥳.

[dchill]

11. This ought to be fun.

[OMGWTF]

13. I'm surprised Mz Graham didn't just declare IOKIYAR.

[Notek]

14. He is

Just another one of those assholes who have no shame.

[moondust]

15. He's royalty!

I mean...isn't that what the GQP is trying to establish with their coup attempt and election tricks? As permanent royals they won't even have to bother pretending to give a damn about all the little working losers who didn't inherit millions.

In 1936 FDR called them "economic royalists." These days it's not just economic but all the other privileges and powers afforded kings.

[RayStar]

16. Too scared

He's afraid he may be caught lying.

[onetexan]

20. bingo

[Botany]

17. Sorry Lindsey Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis, has you on tape asking Georgia's Sec. ...

of State to throw out all the mail in votes for Fulton County (aka the black votes) because you
as a US Senator from SOUTH CAROLINA asserted that there was a problem with the signatures
matching for those votes. You were asking for somebody or somebodies to commit a felony in
order to stop the counting of legal ballots which as you know is a felony. Being as you were a
JAG officer in the USAF.

[Hermit-The-Prog]

23. Thank you. I didn't know Graham was a jagoff icer previously.

[smb]

18. The Title Has Me Visualizing An Emily Litella Skit

"What's this I hear about Lindsey Graham saying he can't testify because he's too impotent? What kind of shenanigans do they have going on in those courts? Even if he is impotent, they have pills for that now, so he can just take one and testify all night long!...
...Oh, that's very different! Never mind...."

[RANDYWILDMAN]

19. Lindsey, this is bad precedent

your tool box.

You never mettle, you mettle for you ahole buddy, it's ok you are just doing your job? Gimme a break !

[spanone]

21. graham wasn't performing 'legislative acts' -- he was performing 'criminal acts'.

The U.S. Constitution, Graham’s lawyers say, “provides absolute protection against inquiry into Senator Graham’s legislative acts.”

[Jilly_in_VA]

22. "Too important"?

Oh, spare me, Lindsey dear!

[Blue Owl]

24. The Pampered Pooplicker