The 11th Circuit Court of Appeals, made up of a majority of Trump-appointed jurists, issued a stay allowing Republican South Carolina Senator and man who just adored Scarlett O’Hara’s dress in Gone With the Wind Lindsey Graham to temporarily avoid testifying before the Georgia grand jury investigating efforts by Donald Trump and his acolytes to overturn the certified results of the November 2020 election, the New York Times reports.
The ruling does not bar Graham from testifying; it sends the case back to the federal district court to determine if Graham is “entitled to a partial quashal or modification of the subpoena to appear before the special purpose grand jury.” The lower court must determine if Graham’s conversations with Georgia election officials were part of his official duties as a Senator and if so, if they are therefore protected under the Speech and Debate Clause issue.
While the hearing would not make a specific determination, the court could rule that Graham’s actions were not covered under the Speech and Debate Clause protections because he contacted Georgia election officials in furtherance of a crime–that is, to obstruct the official duties of Georgia election officials and to undermine the integrity of elections.