Rudy Giuliani and Lindsey Graham Subpoenaed by Grand Jury in Inquiry into Trump's Attempts to Reverse Election

By Dareh Gregorian, Charlie Gile and Ali Vitali -

The special Georgia grand jury hearing evidence in an investigation into possible interference in the 2020 election by former President Donald Trump and others has subpoenaed Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-SC, and key members of the legal team. Trump, including Rudy Giuliani and John Eastman, NBC News confirmed.

Attorneys Jenna Ellis, Cleta Mitchell and Kenneth Chesebro have also been subpoenaed by the Fulton County special grand jury, all of whom worked with the former president after the election when he challenged the results.

Former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani, one of former President Donald Trump's attorneys, speaks during a news conference on November 19, 2020, in Washington, DCAP

The subpoenas were first reported by The Atlanta Journal-Constitution and obtained by NBC News.

The special grand jury was formed earlier this year to aid Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis' investigation into whether there was any "coordinated attempt to unlawfully alter the outcome of the 2020 election" in Georgia.

Among the incidents Willis says he is investigating is a phone call Graham made in November 2020 to Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger, who has insisted the senator pressed him on whether he had the power to reject certain mail-in ballots. a question that Raffensperger interpreted as a suggestion to scrap legally cast votes.

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Graham denied that is what he was trying to do, calling the allegation "ridiculous."

He assured reporters that he had contacted Raffensperger because

The subpoena states that the senator “made at least two phone calls” to Raffensperger and his staff.

During the phone calls, [Graham] questioned Secretary Raffensperger and his staff about the reexamination of certain mail-in ballots.

issued in Georgia to explore the possibility of a more favorable outcome for former President Donald Trump.

[Graham] also referenced allegations of widespread voter fraud in the November 2020 election in Georgia, consistent with public statements made by known Trump campaign affiliates,” the subpoena reads.

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The senator did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

One of the attorneys subpoenaed Tuesday, Mitchell, was on a separate call with Raffensperger — the call recorded on Jan. 2, 2021, in which Trump urged Raffensperger to overturn Joe Biden's victory in the state.

Trump said on the call.

Trump has denied there was anything inappropriate about the call, describing it as "seamless."

Mitchell's subpoena said he "possesses unique knowledge of the coordination and execution" of the phone call.

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Raffensperger testified before the grand jury last month and Giuliani testified before Georgia state lawmakers three times after the 2020 election, the Journal-Constitution reported, fueling debunked voter fraud claims and urging lawmakers to take action. measures.

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In emotional testimony last month before the House committee investigating the January 6 riots at the US Capitol, poll workers Ruby Freeman and her daughter, Wandrea "Shaye" Moss, described how they were harassed and threatened with death after Giuliani used video footage of the couple working during the election count to promote lies about the results.

Giuliani falsely claimed the two were passing USB drives "like vials of heroin or cocaine" during vote-counting operations in Fulton County.

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Giuliani's subpoena said that despite a lack of evidence, the former New York City mayor "made additional statements, both to the public and in subsequent legislative hearings, alleging widespread voter fraud in Georgia during the November election." 2020 and using the now-debunked State Farm video in support of those statements.

There is evidence that [Giuliani's] appearance and testimony at the hearing was part of a coordinated, multi-state plan by the Trump campaign to influence the results of the November 2020 election in Georgia and elsewhere."

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Ellis testified alongside Giuliani at a hearing in Georgia, which his subpoena also said was part of the "coordinated plan."

Eastman, another key figure in the Jan. 6 hearings, also testified before Georgia lawmakers, the Journal-Constitution reported, arguing that lawmakers had "more than enough" evidence of fraud to choose an alternative list of presidential electors for the election. condition.

Eastman's subpoena stated that he "advised legislators that they had both the legal authority and the 'duty' to replace the list of Democratic Party presidential electors, who had been certified as the duly appointed electors for the State of Georgia after the November 2020 election, due to unsubstantiated claims of widespread voter fraud in the state."

Giuliani, Mitchell, Ellis and Eastman did not immediately respond to NBC News requests for comment.