Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas on Monday issued an order temporarily shielding Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., from testifying before an Atlanta-area grand jury investigating whether then-President Donald Trump and others attempted to illegally interfere in Georgia's 2020 election results.

What You Need To Know

  • Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas temporarily blocked South Carolina Sen. Lindsey Graham from testifying before a grand jury investigating whether then-President Donald Trump and others attempted to illegally interfere in Georgia's 2020 election results

  • Graham was first subpoenaed in July by Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis, who opened her probe shortly after a now-infamous January 2021 phone call where Trump asked Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger to "find" the votes needed to overturn his loss to Joe Biden

  • Willis wants to question Graham about two phone calls he made to Raffensperger and his staff in the weeks after the election; During those calls, Graham asked about “reexamining certain absentee ballots cast in Georgia in order to explore the possibility of a more favorable outcome for former President Donald Trump,” Willis wrote in a petition seeking to compel his testimony

  • Graham’s lawyers argued that the Constitution’s speech or debate clause, which protects members of Congress from having to answer questions about legislative activity, shields him from having to testify

Graham was first subpoenaed in July by Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis, who opened her probe shortly after a now-infamous January 2021 phone call where Trump asked Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger to "find" the votes needed to overturn his loss to Democrat Joe Biden.

Thomas' order is intended to prevent Willis from compelling Graham to testify while the Supreme Court weighs the senator's request for a lengthier halt to the proceedings.

Willis has a deadline Thursday to tell the high court why Graham should have to answer the grand jury's questions.

Willis wants to question Graham about two phone calls he made to Raffensperger and his staff in the weeks after the election.

During those calls, Graham asked about “reexamining certain absentee ballots cast in Georgia in order to explore the possibility of a more favorable outcome for former President Donald Trump,” Willis wrote in a petition seeking to compel his testimony.

Graham also “made reference to allegations of widespread voter fraud in the November 2020 election in Georgia, consistent with public statements made by known affiliates of the Trump Campaign,” she wrote. She said in a hearing last month that Graham may be able to provide insight into the extent of any coordinated efforts to influence the results.

Raffensperger said he took Graham’s question about absentee ballots as a suggestion to toss out legally cast votes. Graham has dismissed that interpretation as “ridiculous.” Graham has also argued that the call was protected because he was asking questions to inform his decisions on voting to certify the 2020 election and future legislation.

Graham challenged his subpoena in federal court, but a judge refused to toss it out. Graham then appealed to the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, and a three-judge panel ruled Thursday in favor of Willis. Graham can appeal to the full court.

Graham’s lawyers argued that the Constitution’s speech or debate clause, which protects members of Congress from having to answer questions about legislative activity, shields him from having to testify.

Graham is represented by former White House counsel Don McGahn, who was involved in a lengthy court fight over a congressional subpoena for his own testimony related to special counsel Robert Mueller's investigation of Russian interference in the 2016 election. After years of back-and-forth, the two sides reached an agreement and McGahn answered investigators' questions in a private session.

Graham's filing Friday was directed to Justice Clarence Thomas, who handles emergency appeals from Georgia and several other Southern states. Thomas can act on his own or refer the matter to the full court.

As the justice who handles emergency appeals from Georgia, Thomas acted on his own.Trump's lawyers recently submitted a Supreme Court application to Thomas asking the Supreme Court to step into a legal fight over the classified documents seized during an FBI search of Trump's Florida estate.

Thomas has previously come under scrutiny for his vote in a different Trump documents case, in which he was the only member of the court to vote against allowing the House committee investigating the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol riot to obtain Trump records held by the National Archives and Records Administration.

Thomas’ wife, Virginia “Ginni” Thomas, is a conservative activist and staunch Trump supporter who attended the Jan. 6 “Stop the Steal” rally on the Ellipse and wrote to Meadows in the weeks following the election encouraging him to work to overturn Biden’s victory and keep Trump in office.

She also contacted lawmakers in Arizona and Wisconsin in the weeks after the election, though no evidence has emerged that she contacted Georgia officials. Thomas was recently interviewed by the House committee investigating the Jan. 6 insurrection, and she stood by the false claim that the 2020 election was fraudulent, despite the fact that numerous federal and local officials, a long list of courts, top former campaign staffers and even Trump's own attorney general have all said there is no evidence of mass fraud.