Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas put on hold an order for testimony for Sen. Lindsey Graham before a Georgia grand jury.
The Washington Post reported in November 2020 that the top election official in Georgia said that a Republican senator from South Carolina was one of the people who pressured the Secretary of State to look at the ballots.
The South Carolina lawmaker asked the Supreme Court to block the subpoena after a grand jury in Georgia subpoenaed him.
"Lindsey Graham will be questioned by a local Georgia prosecutor and her ad hoc investigative body about his protected'speech or debate' related to the 2020 election," his lawyers wrote in the application. Despite the Constitution's command that senators shouldn't be questioned about any speech, this will happen.
The justices in the nation's top court are likely to get more time to consider the senator's request to block his testimony. The justice acted alone because he has jurisdiction over the lower court.
Graham did not reply to the request for comment.
Graham had previously tried to avoid testifying before the Atlanta grand jury. Georgia's district attorney objected to Graham's argument that the Constitution gave him immunity in the election interference probe.
"Senator's extreme position defies the facts, this Court's holdings, Supreme Court precedent, and the interests of the public," prosecutors wrote.
The judge said she was "unpersuaded by the breadth of Senator Graham's argument."
The court did not find that it could simply accept Senator Graham's sweeping and conclusory characterizations of the calls and ignore other objective facts in the record.
The representatives for the Fulton County District Attorney's office didn't reply immediately.
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