“
The lawyers of Mr. Giuliani has said he did nothing improper in Georgia and has been willing to cooperate. But they have been arguing with Ms. Willis’ office about their efforts to get him to testify before a grand jury. The lawyers of Mr. Giuliani have said that a doctor recommended that Mr. Giuliani did not travel by plane because of a procedure he underwent in early July to place heart stents, and they have tried to delay his testimony or have it done by video conference, an idea that the prosecutor’s office of the district has resisted.
Fulton County Superior Court Judge Robert CI McBurney said last week that Mr. Giuliani could travel to Atlanta “by train, bus or Uber” and set a date for Wednesday, after agreeing to delay his appearance for more than a week. . Mr. Giuliani’s lawyers indicated that, in any case, their client would have little to say if he were named as a target of the investigation.
“I think it would be malicious to make, as a goal, to have him travel here, especially by these alternative means, when there probably wouldn’t be much testimony before the grand jury,” another Giuliani lawyer, William H. Thomas. Jr., he said after a court hearing.
At least 17 other people have already been named as targets who could face charges in the investigation, including two state senators and the head of the state Republican Party.
The lawyers of Mr. Graham had based his argument on the Constitution’s speech and debate clause, which protects lawmakers from being questioned about things they say are related to their official duties. Among other things, they also argued that Mr Graham, as a senior official, could only be called upon in “extraordinary circumstances”.
Judge May ruled that prosecutors had shown that such extraordinary circumstances exist.
Mr. Graham has argued that his phone calls to Mr. Raffensperger were protected by the speech and debate clause because they were investigative in nature and related to his position, at the time, as chairman of the Judiciary Committee. But the judge, in her order, noted that “individuals on the calls have publicly suggested that Senator Graham was not simply engaged in legislative fact-finding” and that he was “attempting to influence the actions of Secretary Raffensperger” to benefit mr trump (Mr. Raffensperger has said that Mr. Graham seemed to suggest that he find a way to throw out legally cast votes.)
