Atlanta investigators can subpoena Lindsey Graham in 2020 election investigation, appeals court rules
The attorney general for Alabama could subpoena Lindsey Graham this year in an investigation in his home state over what one of the candidates said about a woman on the campaign trail in October 2017.
U.S. District Judge Ed Carnes ruled that the subpoena is enforceable — but also told Alabama that it better comply with the terms of the request.
“We’re asking you to come back to the table to negotiate a mutually satisfactory resolution,” Carnes said Wednesday in his ruling. “We’re saying it’s your obligation to come back to the table. And until you do, we will proceed.”
Alabama Attorney General Steve Marshall called the ruling as “disturbing and disappointing.”
“I am reviewing the court’s ruling in this matter,” he said in a written response. “I will have further communications with the court and with the parties.”
In October 2017, Graham made an off-the-cuff comment about U.S. Rep. Frederica Wilson (D) in a CNN town hall interview, which surfaced in the news after the first Democratic debate. The comments drew national attention, including a challenge from the woman who asked the question, former U.S. Rep. Beto O’Rourke (D-Texas).
In the CNN interview, Graham referred to Wilson’s past work with the NAACP.
“I’ll ask her if she’s been to the KKK and if she’s been to the Ku Klux Klan,” Graham said. “‘You think she’s got a problem with the KKK in the U.S. House?'”
After a backlash from some conservatives, Graham apologized, saying he was “tongue in cheek” and “trying to make a joke.”
The controversy led to a legal challenge, which went to the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, which unanimously sent it back to Alabama
