Attorneys representing Sen. Lindsey Graham of South Carolina said Wednesday they plan to contest a subpoena compelling him to testify before a Georgia grand jury investigating the actions of former President Donald Trump and his allies after the 2020 election. Graham was one of a handful of Trump confidants and attorneys named Tuesday in reports filed by Fulton County District Attorney Fannie Willis as part of her investigation into what she claims was “a multi-state, coordinated scheme by the Trump Campaign to influence the results of the November 2020 elections in Georgia and elsewhere.” Graham’s lawyers, Bart Daniel and Matt Austin, said in a statement Wednesday that the Republican senator “intends to go to court, challenge the subpoena and expects to prevail,” and criticized the investigation as politically motivated. “This is all politics. Fulton County is participating in a fishing expedition and working in coordination with the January 6 Commission in Washington,” they wrote, adding that, “As Chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, Senator Graham was well within his rights to discuss with state officials the proceedings and procedures for conducting elections”. “If true, the subpoena issued today will erode the constitutional balance of power and a member of Congress’ ability to do their job,” they continued. They also said they had been told by Fulton County investigators that Graham “is neither the subject nor the target of the investigation.” A spokesman for Willis, a Democrat, did not immediately respond to a text message seeking comment. In the report filed Tuesday, Willis wrote that Graham, a longtime Trump ally, made at least two phone calls to Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger and members of his staff in the weeks following the November 2020 presidential election, in which Trump lost. Democrat Joe Biden. During those calls, Graham asked that some absentee ballots be reconsidered “to explore the possibility of a more favorable outcome for former President Donald Trump,” she wrote. Willis also filed complaints of coercion from former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani, who was one of Trump’s key lawyers during his failed efforts to overturn the election, as well as attorneys Kenneth Chesebro, Cleta Mitchell, Jenna Ellis, John. Eastman and Jackie Pick Deason. Giuliani is recovering Tuesday after undergoing surgery to insert two heart stents, his son, Andrew Giuliani, said while filling in for him as a radio co-host on “The Rudy Giuliani Show.” Our Morning Update and Afternoon Update newsletters are written by Globe editors, giving you a concise summary of the day’s most important headlines. Sign up today.
