Republican Senator Lindsey Graham got a break from judges who delayed his upcoming grand jury testimony.
A panel of federal appeals court judges temporarily delayed Graham’s testimony in Atlanta that was to be heard before a Fulton County special grand jury in the criminal probe investigation on whether former President Donald Trump or his associates broke any state law in their efforts to have the 2020 presidential election results overturned in the state of Georgia, Fox News reported.
The temporary stay was issued on Sunday by the 11th US Circuit Court of Appeals, which delayed the South Carolina Senator’s testimony scheduled for Tuesday. Now, a lower court must decide on the types of questions that can and cannot be posed to Graham because there are protections given to members of Congress under the U.S. Constitution.
U.S. District Judge Leigh Martin May had previously denied the senator’s request on Aug. 15 to quash his subpoena and then on Friday rejected his effort to put her ruling on hold while he appealed.
Graham’s lawyers appealed to the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals.
The three-judge panel, comprised of two Trump appointees and one appointee of former President Bill Clinton, issued their order temporarily, pausing May’s order that rejected quashing the subpoena.
The appeals court judge’s decision directs May to determine whether Graham “is entitled to a partial quashal or modification of the subpoena to appear before the special purpose grand jury based on any protections afforded by the Speech or Debate Clause of the United States Constitution.”
Apparently, the clause protects members of Congress from testifying about anything related to their official legislative business.
After May decides on that issue, the case will return to the 11th Circuit for further consideration.
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