Judge rejects Lindsey Graham’s efforts to delay testimony in Trump probe

(NEW YORK) — A federal judge in Georgia has denied Sen. Lindsey Graham’s effort to delay his testimony before the Fulton County grand jury in their investigation into former President Trump’s effort to overturn the election in the state.

“Under the circumstances, further delay of Senator Graham’s testimony would greatly compound the overall delay in carrying out the grand jury’s investigation. Further delay thus poses a significant risk of overall hindrance to the grand jury’s investigation, and the Court therefore finds that granting a stay would almost certainly result in material injury to the grand jury and its investigation. Accordingly, this factor weighs against Senator Graham and in favor of the grand jury,” Judge Leigh Martin May wrote on Friday.

Graham is currently scheduled to testify Tuesday but there is still another motion to stay. He had asked the judge to quash the subpoena demanding he appear.

Graham was subpoenaed last month as part of the Fulton County district attorney’s criminal probe into Trump’s efforts to overturn Georgia’s election results.

Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis officially launched the investigation in February 2021, sparked in part by the phone call Trump made to Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger in which he pleaded with him to “find 11,780 votes,” the exact number Trump needed to win Georgia.

Olivia Rubin contributed to this report.

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