Lindsey Graham achieved new heights of political celebrity during the Trump years, but now finds himself in the middle of a criminal investigation related to the fight for Georgia in the 2020 presidential race.
Graham has been subpoenaed by a grand jury in Fulton County as part of an investigation into possible criminal interference in the 2020 election in Georgia, which Joe Biden narrowly won.
The lawyers for Graham said in a statement that the senator is not a target of the investigation.
The prospect of a lengthy legal battle was raised by his attorneys, Bart Daniel and Matt Austin.
As chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, Sen. Graham was able to discuss the processes and procedures with state officials. The ability of a member of Congress to do their job would be eroded if the subpoena stood. The senator plans to go to court and challenge the subpoena.
If necessary, the district attorney's office will respond in the appropriate court.
Democrats think Graham's actions after Trump narrowly lost Georgia were unusual.
Graham called the Georgia Secretary of State after Biden asked about the validity of the ballots.
Graham reached out directly to Raffensperger instead of letting staff handle what he described as an information gathering mission.
A former Senate aide who worked on voting rights legislation said that it was alarming that a United States senator was being questioned about the events surrounding Donald Trump.
Lindsey Graham does not live in Georgia. Lindsey Graham has an official legislative role, but he isn't an investigator, an elections official, or a representative of the president.
The Judiciary Committee would not have conducted any kind of oversight if Graham had been the chairman.
He said it was odd and unconventional. I am not aware of his role in the Judiciary Committee at the time.
While Graham's legal team says he is not the target or subject of the investigation into criminal election interference, his involvement raises questions about whether he could face criminal liability at some point.
Stanley Brand is a former general counsel to the House and specialist in congressional ethics.
He said that Graham contacted Raffensperger before he and other senators were going to vote on the issue.
The legal case is murkier because of Graham's interactions with state officials outside of Congress.
He asked how much of his conversations would be covered.
The Supreme Court ruled in 1972 that the speech and debate of lawmakers are not protected by the law.
He explained that the protections of the speech and debate clause are determined by how a court rules.
The Attorney General is expected to act on the findings of the House select committee to investigate and charge members of Trump's inner circle in connection to their efforts to block Biden's 2020 victory.
The home of Jeffrey Clark, a former Justice Department lawyer who tried to persuade Trump to put him in charge of Justice so that he could send a letter to Georgia election officials, was searched by federal investigators.
According to testimony made public by the House select panel, other Trump allies were subpoenaed by the Fulton County D.A. Rudy Giuliani, Trump's personal attorney, as well as other Trump-aligned attorneys were subpoenaed.
Georgia's top election official told The Washington Post that he was shocked by Graham's suggestion to throw out legally cast ballots.
Graham denied that he was trying to understand how Georgia election law worked and insisted that he was just trying to understand.
He wants to know how to protect the integrity of mail-in voting and how to verify signatures.
After more than a year and a half, that claim is coming under intense scrutiny.
More evidence has come to light since news broke that Graham contacted Raffensperger and his staff twice about reviewing Georgia's Absentee Ballots for Potential Fraud.
Graham's close relationship with Trump and his regular access to the president has raised doubts about the senator's claims that he was participating in a fact- finding mission without any intention of pressuring election officials.
Issac J. Bailey is a professor of public policy and communications studies at Davidson College in North Carolina.
He called Georgia's election officials because of Graham's friendship with Trump.
Bailey told The Hill that the old Lindsey Graham wouldn't have gotten into this position and wouldn't have pressured legislators to change their minds.
He said that after holding Trump at arm's length and calling out the danger many of us saw, he just relinquished all of that to get into the good graces of Trump.
Republican strategists don't think Graham will suffer any political damage at home due to Trump's popularity.
The Republican Party and the typical Republican voter in the state of South Carolina are not likely to be hurt by the simple act of getting caught up in this. James Wallner, a former Senate Republican aide who now teaches about Congress and American constitutional law, said that it was not likely that he would be punished at the polls for that.
Legal ramifications are more difficult to predict.
He said that they can't write the chapter until they get there.
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