Clarence Thomas intervenes to stop Lindsey Graham from testifying in Georgia election probe
Clarence Thomas #ClarenceThomas
Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas has unilaterally acted to block South Carolina Senator Lindsey Graham from being compelled to give evidence before the Fulton County, Georgia grand jury investigating former president Donald Trump’s efforts to overturn his 2020 election loss to Joe Biden.
Justice Thomas, whose wife Ginni Thomas recently appeared before the House January 6 select committee to testify as to her involvement in efforts to keep Mr Trump in office against the wishes of US voters, issued a one-page order staying a Georgia district court order permitting enforcement of a Fulton County judge’s subpoena compelling Mr Graham to testify about phone calls he made to Georgia officials in the weeks following Mr Trump’s loss.
Mr Graham has been fighting Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis’ push for his testimony, which he claims is shielded by the US Constitution’s “speech or debate” clause.
Because the appellate court that hears cases from Georgia district courts, the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals, declined to block him from testifying, Mr Graham had last week appealed to the Supreme Court.
Each of the high court’s nine justices handles initial appeals from at least one of the 12 circuit courts of appeals, and because Justice Thomas handles the 11th Circuit, the case was his initial responsibility.
The single-sentence order states that the Georgia court’s 1 September order is “hereby stayed pending further order” from either Justice Thomas or the entire Supreme Court.
Justice Thomas, the court’s most senior associate justice, has been facing calls for him to recuse himself from matters involving the 2020 election and the 6 January 2021 attack on the US Capitol.
Legal experts have questioned his prior decision not to recuse himself from a case involving Mr Trump’s efforts to block the House select committee from accessing his former administration’s records, citing his wife’s involvement in efforts to overturn 2020 election results in several swing states.
Ms Thomas, a veteran conservative activist, has long maintained that she and her husband do not discuss each other’s professional activities.
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