Judge orders Lindsey Graham to testify before grand jury in Trump election probe
NBCOct 19, 2022
The Facts
Fulton County, Georgia Superior Court Judge Robert McBurney on Mon. ordered Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) to testify on Aug. 2 for its special grand jury, which Fulton County DA Fani Willis convened to investigate efforts by former President Trump to engage with Georgia officials regarding the results of the 2020 presidential election.
McBurney characterized Graham as a "necessary and material witness" in the probe, and the judge's order said the grand jury would like to ask Graham about two phone calls he allegedly made to GA Sec. of State Brad Raffensperger in Nov. 2021.
The Spin
Pro-Trump narrative
Graham and other Republicans are right not to cooperate with this grand jury. This is part of the Democrats' strategy to criminalize legitimate legal challenges to violations of state election laws. They have done this under the unfair guise of linking Trump to an alleged effort to overturn the 2020 results.
Democratic narrative
Graham's excuses for disobeying the subpoena are dubious. He must know it would be illegal for the grand jury to share testimony with the committee - it's not up to him to determine whether the inquiry is legitimate. All this obfuscation makes one wonder if Graham actually has something to hide.
