The case is seen by some observers as one of the ex-president’s biggest legal threats.
A criminal case examining former President Trump and others for potentially meddling in the 2020 presidential election is starting to intensify. Some of his most loyal allies, including his one-time personal lawyer Rudy Giuliani, have been called to testify before a special grand jury.
According to The New York Times, Giuliani has emerged as a “target” in a criminal probe against the former president, and has been ordered to appear before the jury after prosecutors reportedly questioned some comments he made before state legislative panels. This is just one of many legal threats Giuliani is facing — investigators in a separate probe are looking into his dealings in Ukraine and efforts to dig up dirt on then-presidential candidate Joe Biden.
But he’s not the only one that’s in the hot seat: GOP Sen. Lindsey Graham has also been mandated to testify after failing to squash a subpoena. His lawyers had argued that he shouldn’t have to make an appearance before the jury because of his status as a sitting congress member but that was rebuffed due to “extraordinary circumstances.”
“[T]he Court finds that the District Attorney has shown extraordinary circumstances and a special need for Senator Graham’s testimony on issues relating to alleged attempts to influence or disrupt the lawful administration of Georgia’s 2022 elections,” U.S. District Court Judge Leigh Martin May wrote in rejecting Graham’s challenge.
Though he has vowed to appeal, the South Carolina Republican is scheduled to appear as a witness in front of the grand jury in Atlanta on August 23. Here are more details on the case that’s seen by some observers as one of Trump’s biggest legal threats, though certainly not the last.
What sparked the Georgia criminal investigation into Donald Trump?
The probe was initially sparked by a call Trump made on Jan. 2, 2021 while waiting for Congress to confirm Biden’s Electoral College victory. In the extraordinary hourlong call, the ex-president pushed election conspiracies and urged Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger to “find” enough votes so he could win the state.
“The people of Georgia are angry, the people of the country are angry,” the ex-president said at the time. “And there’s nothing wrong with saying, you know, that you’ve recalculated.” But Raffensperger and his office’s general counsel rejected Trump’s demands, explaining that Biden’s 11,779-vote victory in Georgia was fair and accurate.
Who’s leading the probe?
In February 2021, Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis, who is the first woman to hold the position, launched a probe into the call, and several other incidents that center on Trump’s efforts to overturn the 2020 presidential election results in Georgia. This includes the abrupt resignation of a former attorney in Atlanta, Byung “BJay” Pak on Jan. 4, 2021, during Trump’s mission to overturn the election results.
But just how serious is this probe? Willis said Trump and his co-conspirators could face a range of different charges, including election fraud, conspiracy, racketeering, “violation of oath of office, and any involvement in violence or threats related to the election’s administration.”
Where does the investigation stand now?
Since impaneling a 23-person special grand jury in January, the inquiry has picked up steam following a slew of subpoenas. Though witnesses like Raffensperger have complied with this summons, Willis has had to wage a few legal battles to get some of Trump’s closest confidants, including Giuliani and Graham, to testify. A breakdown of their involvement is below.
Giuliani
Giuliani has been one of Trump’s biggest supporters when it comes to supporting his claims of election fraud. During legislative hearings in December 2020, he appeared to spread false claims of election fraud in Atlanta’s Fulton County.
Though his lawyers have tried to delay his testimony, the former lawyer is slated to testify in person in Atlanta on Wednesday. But it’s unclear how revealing his testimony will be: His lawyers say the Republican will use attorney-client privilege to avoid answering questions about his conversations with the former president.
Graham
On top of the call between Trump and Raffensperger, Willis’ office is also reviewing some conversations Graham had with Raffensperger. During one November 2020 call, the South Carolina lawmaker suggested that some absentee ballots should be reexamined and possibly tossed out.
Before losing his bid to avoid appearing before the grand jury, Graham had claimed he was simply performing “legislative acts.” But U.S. District Judge Leigh Martin May shot this claim down, citing individuals on the calls that said Graham was “suggesting or implying that Georgia election officials change their processes or otherwise potentially alter the state’s results.”
As far as other potential testimonies, Georgia Rep. Jody Hice, Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp, and conservative lawyers John Eastman, Jenna Ellis, and Cleta Mitchell have all been called to take the stand.
