Trump election probe: Graham, DA come to agreement; fake electors fight subpoenas
Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) listens as Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) speaks at a press conference at the U.S. Capitol to discuss immigration at the southern border on June 22, 2022 in Washington, DC. Cruz spoke alongside Graham and the National Border Patrol C
ATLANTA - Tuesday was a busy day for Fulton County District Attorney Fani WIllis and her office. More than a dozen potential witnesses are fighting subpoenas to testify in front of the Fulton County special purpose grand jury investigating whether former President Trump and others interfered with the 2020 election.
The special grand jury was selected and sworn in on May 2, 2022, and tasked with investigating "the facts and circumstances relating directly or indirectly to possible attempts to disrupt the lawful administration of the 2020 elections in the State of Georgia."
At least one of the witnesses fighting to testify, Georgia Congressman Jody Hice, was scheduled to appear before the grand jury. It was not immediately clear if that happened.
Meanwhile, one witness has come to an agreement with the DA's office.
Sen. Graham, Fulton DA come to agreement over grand jury subpoena
Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham, of South Carolina, has agreed be served with a subpoena to testify before a Georgia special purpose grand jury investigating alleged efforts to overturn the state's 2020 presidential election results. But, Graham’s lawyers have left open an option to fight the subpoena once Graham is served.
Graham was subpoenaed to testify before the grand jury regarding calls he made to Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger and his staff in the weeks following the 2020 election — a time when former President Donald Trump raised numerous claims of fraud in states he lost, like Georgia. He filed a motion in federal court claiming the subpoena is politically motivated and would set a dangerous precedent for members of Congress. Graham's motion argues that the subpoena would violate Constitutional protections given to members of Congress under the Speech and Debate Clause, which is designed to ensure that legislators are allowed to go about official business.
In a federal court document obtained by FOX 5, federal attorneys representing Fulton County District Attorney Fani WIllis submitted a stipulation to the dismissal of all challenges on their part based on the agreement. It reads in part:
"Senator Graham has agreed to accept service of a subpoena for testimony from the Fulton County Special Purpose Grand Jury in Atlanta, Georgia, without waiving any challenges or any applicable privilege and/or immunity. The parties agree that any such challenges to the subpoena will be pursued in Fulton County Superior Court and/or the United States District Court for the Northern District of Georgia."
Graham insists that he never attempted to persuade Raffensperger to overturn Georgia's election results, and he's not a target in the Georgia grand jury investigation.
CONGRESSMAN HICE FIGHTS SUBPOENA FROM FULTON SPECIAL GRAND JURY
On Aug. 2, the Senate will be in session and Graham would likely be needed for votes in the final weeks before the state work period begins Aug. 8. It was not immediately clear if the DA offered to change dates or to make certain accommodations for the testimony.
Georgia fake electors seek to quash election probe subpoenas
A group of Republican fake electors from Georgia are also fighting subpoenas to testify before the special grand jury.
All 11 signed a certificate declaring falsely that then-President Donald Trump had won the 2020 presidential election and declaring themselves the state’s "duly elected and qualified" electors even though Joe Biden had won the state and a slate of Democratic electors was certified. They filed a motion Tuesday to quash their subpoenas, calling them "unreasonable and oppressive."
Willis’ office declined to comment Tuesday on the motion to quash the subpoenas.
While the special grand jury operates in secret, recent public court filings have made clear that Willis is interested in the actions of the fake electors.
In the Tuesday filing, lawyers for the 11 fake electors said that from mid-April through the end of June, Willis’s office had told them that they were considered witnesses, not subjects or targets of the investigation. For that reason, they had agreed to voluntary interviews with the investigative team, the motion said. Georgia Republican Party Chairman David Shafer and another of the fake electors appeared for interviews in late April.
On June 1, grand jury subpoenas were sent to all 11 of those fake electors. And on June 28, the district attorney’s office told their lawyers for the first time that their clients were considered targets, rather than witnesses, the motion said.
On Dec. 14, 2020, when Georgia’s official Democratic electors met to certify the state’s electoral votes for Biden, the fake Republican electors also met to certify a slate of electoral votes for Trump. They did that because there was a lawsuit challenging the election results pending at the time, and if a judge found that Trump had actually won their electoral slate would become valid, the motion said.
The district attorney’s office knew all that and properly labeled them witnesses, prompting them to agree to voluntary cooperation, the motion said.
"The abrupt, unsupportable, and public elevation of all eleven nominee electors’ status wrongfully converted them from witnesses who were cooperating voluntarily and prepared to testify in the Grand Jury to persecuted targets of it," the motion said. As a result, their lawyers advised them to invoke their federal and state rights protecting them against self-incrimination, and they "reluctantly" accepted that advice, the motion said.
The motion alleges that Willis is only pursuing some of the 16 electors as targets, specifically those who are prominent figures in the state Republican Party. That is evidence of political motivation, the lawyers argue.
But Willis said in a court filing Tuesday that each of the 16 people who signed the false elector certificate has received a letter saying they are targets of the investigation and that their testimony before the special grand jury is required.
The motion asks Fulton County Superior Court Judge Robert McBurney, who’s overseeing the special grand jury to excuse the 11 electors from appearing. It also asks him to look into Willis’ actions "indicating the improper politicization of this investigatory process."
It also asks him to grant a motion filed Friday by state Sen. Burt Jones seeking to remove Willis and her office from the investigation. Jones, who’s the Republican nominee for lieutenant governor, alleged that the investigation is politically motivated because Willis is an active supporter of his Democratic opponent. McBurney on Tuesday set a Thursday hearing on that motion.
Willis’s office has said Jones’ claims are without merit and wrote in a filing Tuesday that Jones has identified no actions that show political motivation.
Who has been called to testify before the grand jury?
A number of top Republican state officials — including Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger and Attorney General Chris Carr — have already testified before the special grand jury. Gov. Brian Kemp is set to give a sworn recorded statement on July 25.
Earlier this month, Willis began a process to subpoena out-of-state witnesses to testify. That included some close Trump advisers and allies, including U.S. Sen. Lindsey Graham of South Carolina and former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani, who also served as Trump’s lawyer.
FOX News and The Associated Press contributed to this report