Graham gets a temporary reprieve from an order to testify before a grand jury

By NPR Washington Desk

Published August 21, 2022 at 11:26 AM EDT

Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., has been granted a temporary stay of an order to appear before a grand jury in Georgia investigating whether former president Donald Trump and others illegally sought to overturn the election results.

An appeals court has granted a temporary stay of an order that forced Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., to appear before a Fulton County, Ga., grand jury.

The 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals said Sunday it wanted both sides to argue what areas of questioning would be appropriate for a sitting U.S. senator. Graham has said his position protects him from having to testify.

This comes after Graham formally appealed last week a judge's order that he testify before the grand jury investigating whether former president Donald Trump and others illegally sought to overturn the election results in Georgia.

Prosecutors want Graham to testify about his phone calls to Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger and his staff in the weeks following the 2020 presidential election, which Trump lost.

Graham has argued that the calls were part of his duties as chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee, and his legal team says that his position in Congress protects him from appearing before the grand jury.