Even though most Americans are growing tired of the legal battles over the 2020 election, in Georgia, the story keeps plodding along.
Sen. Lindsey Graham has asked former President Donald Trump’s first White House counsel, Donald McGahn, to join his legal team.
Graham has to keep fighting a subpoena that orders him to appear before a grand jury in Fulton County. He is facing a criminal investigation into the efforts in D.C. to overturn the results of the 2020 election in the Peach State.
Donald McGahn’s name appeared on a recent legal filing that alerted the Fulton County Superior Court that Graham would be moving his legal battle to the Northern District of Georgia.
ABC News asked Graham this week why he brought McGahn onto his team and the senator replied, “He’s he’s a really good guy in this area.”
“I’ve known him, he was a good choice I thought,” Graham said. “That’s sort of his area of practice.”
Senator Graham was subpoenaed last month in the Fulton County district attorney’s criminal investigation into Trump’s attempt to overturn Georgia’s election results.
Fani Willis is the Fulton County District Attorney who officially launched the probe in February of 2021. The catalyst for the investigation was a phone call Trump made to Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger. The former president allegedly pleaded with him to “find 11,780 votes,” which is the exact number Trump needed to win Georgia.
Graham accepted the subpoena when it was serviced. It identifies him as a “necessary and material witness.” Last week he agreed with the Fulton County prosecutors to drop challenges to the subpoena in South Carolina and Washington, D.C.
All future challenges will take place in Georgia.
Graham is arguing to quash the subpoena saying that he was acting “within [his] official legislative responsibilities” as a senator and chairman of the Judiciary Committee when he allegedly made calls to Georgia officials following the 2020 election.
Graham is said to have asked officials like Raffensperger and others about “reexamining certain absentee ballots cast in Georgia in order to explore the possibility of a more favorable outcome for former President Donald Trump.” This is what the judge wrote in a filing of the case.
Graham Trying to Fight Subpoena About 2020 Election
“[Graham] possesses unique knowledge concerning the substance of the telephone calls, the circumstances surrounding his decision to make the telephone calls, the logistics of setting up the telephone calls, and any communications between himself, others involved in the planning and execution of the telephone calls, the Trump Campaign, and other known and unknown individuals involved in the multi-state, coordinated efforts to influence the results of the 2020 election in Georgia,” the filing said.
When Graham was asked last month if he would give up his fight over the subpoena, he said, “No. God, no.”
Lawyers for Graham had this to say in a statement to the press about the subpoena, ”Should it stand, the subpoena issued today would erode the constitutional balance of power and the ability of a Member of Congress to do their job. Senator Graham plans to go to court, challenge the subpoena, and expects to prevail.”
He is scheduled to appear before the grand jury on the morning of August 23.
The same grand jury in Georgia issued subpoenas for Rudy Giuliani and several others on former President Trump’s team. Giuliani, Trump’s personal attorney, testified in front of Georgia lawmakers on several occasions in late 2020.
At the end of its investigation, the special grand jury conducting the probe will if appropriate, make recommendations to prosecutors, who would then need to decide whether to pursue any charges.
