Lawyers for Sen. Graham release statement on Ga. election probe subpoena

CHARLESTON, S.C. (WCSC/AP) - The attorneys for U.S. Senator Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) said on Wednesday that he was not the subject or target of an investigation from Fulton County, Ga. investigators.

Attorneys Bart Daniel and Matt Austin, in a statement released Wednesday, said Graham was only sought as a witness and Tuesday’s filing from Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis was a “fishing expedition” and Fulton County was “working in concert with the January 6 Committee in Washington.

The Georgia prosecutor filed petitions to subpoena Graham, along with former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani and other members of former President Donald Trump’s campaign legal team to testify before a special grand jury.

In the petition submitted to the judge overseeing the special grand jury, Willis wrote that Graham made at least two phone calls to Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger and members of his staff in the weeks after the 2020 election.

In a statement, Daniel and Austin say Graham was “well within his rights to discuss with state officials the processes and procedures around administering elections” based on his standing as Chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee.

The attorneys say the senator plans to challenge the subpoena in court.

The full statement can be read below:

“In my conversations with Fulton County investigators, I have been informed Senator Graham is neither a subject nor target of the investigation, simply a witness.

This is all politics. Fulton County is engaged in a fishing expedition and working in concert with the January 6 Committee in Washington. Any information from an interview or deposition with Senator Graham would immediately be shared with the January 6 Committee.

As Chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, Senator Graham was well within his rights to discuss with state officials the processes and procedures around administering elections. 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.” - Attorneys Bart Danial and Matt Austin