1 of 3 | Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., has been subpoenaed by a special grand jury in the investigation into possible criminal interference by former President Donald Trump in Georgia's 2020 elections. Photo by Ting Shen/UPI |
License Photo
July 5 (UPI) -- A special grand jury, investigating whether former President Donald Trump committed possible criminal interference in Georgia's 2020 elections, has subpoenaed key members of Trump's team, including former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani, Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C. and lawyer John Eastman, according to court documents.
The subpoenas, which were filed Tuesday in Fulton County, cite appearances in December 2020 by Giuliani and Eastman before Georgia's state Senate where they blamed Trump's loss to Democrat Joe Biden on disproven claims of widespread voter fraud.
Guiliani presented a video, debunked by Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger, of election workers at State Farm Arena in Atlanta producing "suitcases of unlawful ballots." The subpoenas also cited "at least two telephone calls" Sen. Graham made to Raffensperger.
"During the telephone calls, Graham questioned Secretary Raffensperger and his staff about reexamining certain absentee ballots cast in Georgia in order to explore the possibility of a more favorable outcome for former President Donald Trump," the subpoena said. "Graham also made reference to allegations of widespread voter fraud in the November 2020 election in Georgia, consistent with public statements made by known affiliates of the Trump Campaign."
The Fulton County special grand jury also subpoenaed Trump lawyers Jenna Ellis, Cleta Mitchell and Kenneth Chesebro who allegedly offered advice on strategies to overturn Biden's wins in Georgia and other swing states.
Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis has been investigating whether Trump broke Georgia's election laws, specifically citing audio of a separate call in which Trump urged Raffensperger to "find 11,780 votes" to overturn the state's certified election results because "we won the state."
The 23-person special grand jury, which was seated in May from a pool of 200 candidates, has begun hearing evidence. Raffensperger and Georgia Attorney Chris Carr testified in June, while Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp is scheduled to give video testimony later this month.
While the special grand jury will not have the power to return an indictment, it "may make recommendations concerning criminal prosecutions as it shall see fit," Willis said in a letter to the court, adding that "a significant number of witnesses have refused to cooperate with the investigation absent a subpoena requiring their testimony."
