Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas has issued an emergency ruling in a case involving Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.).
Lawyers for Graham have been trying to block an attempt to force Graham to testify before a Fulton County, Ga., special grand jury looking into then-President Donald Trump’s actions in the state following the 2020 election.
Thomas granted the stay after a lower federal court refused to do so, reports said on Monday, meaning Graham — for now — will not be compelled to testify.
“Without a stay, Senator Lindsey Graham will soon be questioned by a local Georgia prosecutor and her ad hoc investigative body about his protected ‘Speech or Debate’ related to the 2020 election,” Graham’s lawyers wrote.
“This will occur despite the Constitution’s command that Senators ‘shall not be questioned’ about ‘any Speech or Debate,'” they added.
Just in: Clarence Thomas issues a temporary order preventing Lindsey Graham from having to testify in the Georgia election-interference probe. This is not a ruling on the merits — it is an "administrative stay" while further briefing at SCOTUS continues. https://t.co/RCwHYgP8KM pic.twitter.com/OKDWutmS8h
— SCOTUSblog (@SCOTUSblog) October 24, 2022
CNBC reported:
Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas on Monday temporarily blocked a subpoena demanding testimony from South Carolina Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham from a Georgia grand jury investigating election interference by former President Donald Trump.
The hold on the subpoena came three days after Graham’s attorneys asked Thomas to delay the senator’s appearance before the grand jury, which is investigating possible criminal interference in Georgia’s presidential election in 2020.
On Thursday, a panel of judges on the 11th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals unanimously rejected a request by Graham to temporarily block the subpoena, which calls for the senator to testify on Nov. 17 in an Atlanta courthouse.