A federal judge in Georgia has denied a bid by Republican Senator Lindsey Graham to quash a subpoena ordering him to testify to the grand jury in Atlanta. Fulton County prosecutors want Senator Graham to explain the reason for two calls he placed just after the 2020 election to Brad Raffensperger, Georgia’s Republican secretary of state. Raffensperger told reporters after the calls that Graham had hinted he should throw away ballots from areas where Joe Biden likely got more votes.

Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger: “He asked if the ballots could be matched back to the voters. And then he — I got the sense it implied that then you could then throw those out for any — really would look at the counties with the highest frequent error of signatures. … Well, it’s just an implication that 'Look hard and see how many ballots you could throw out.'”

Senator Graham has promised to appeal the order compelling him to testify in court, arguing he’s shielded under the Constitution’s Speech or Debate Clause.