Senator Lindsey Graham (R-SC) speaks during a press conference at the United States Capitol on May 10, 2022 in Washington, DC.
Win Mcnamee | Getty Images
Senator Lindsey Graham on Tuesday accepted the notification of a subpoena for her testimony before a grand jury in Georgia investigating a possible criminal interference in the 2020 election of then-President Donald Trump.
But Graham, RS.C., still retained his right to challenge the legality of the subpoena, a court document showed.
The Atlanta-based grand jury is looking for evidence related to the efforts of Trump and others to get Georgia officials to overturn the election won there by President Joe Biden.
Graham’s agreement to accept the subpoena will likely streamline his dispute with Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis over his witness’s claim.
The Republican lawmaker, one of Trump’s closest confidants in the Senate, had last week asked a federal judge in South Carolina to overturn the subpoena issued by Willis.
But Willis in a court hearing Monday told the judge Graham’s challenge was too early and he did not appear in court. He said the fact that Graham had not yet been notified of the subpoena meant that no motion to annul it was premature and that he may not have been notified in South Carolina.
On Tuesday, attorneys for both parties told the judge that Willis and Graham “have reached an agreement to withdraw all pending lawsuits and proceedings” before the South Carolina district court.
“Senator Graham has agreed to accept the notice of subpoena for the testimony of the Fulton County Special Purpose Jury in Atlanta, Georgia, without waiving any challenge or applicable privilege and / or immunity,” the lawyers in court.
Any future challenge to the subpoena will be prosecuted in Georgia, either in the Fulton County Superior Court or in the U.S. District Court in Atlanta.
A hearing that was set for Wednesday morning in South Carolina court was canceled.
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