A three-judge panel on the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals on Thursday ordered Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) to testify in Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis’ investigation into ex-President Donald Trump’s efforts to overturn the 2020 election in Georgia.
In its six-page order shooting down Graham’s bid to quash Willis’ subpoena, the panel stated that the GOP senator “has failed to demonstrate that he is likely to succeed on the merits of his appeal.”
The panel rejected Graham’s argument that a sitting member of Congress is not obligated to testify in an investigation like Willis’.
There is “significant dispute about whether his phone calls with Georgia election officials were legislative investigations at all,” the court said.
The decision means Graham must give testimony about his conversations with Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger (R) about the 2020 election.
Of particular interest to investigators is the call in which the South Carolina Republican allegedly asked Raffensperger about having the authority to toss out absentee ballots.
Likely to appeal the order, Graham can bring his case to the full appeals court or the Supreme Court.