(HorizonPost.com) – The South Carolina Supreme Court ruled last week that former White House chief of staff Mark Meadows must testify before the Georgia grand jury investigating possible illegal interference by former President Donald Trump and his allies after the 2020 election.
In a unanimous opinion, the justices described Mark Meadows’ arguments as “manifestly without merit” and ordered him to testify before the Fulton County grand jury called by District Attorney Fani Willis.
A total of 17 people have been named as targets in the ongoing probe that was launched in March 2021 by District Attorney Willis. In January, Willis empaneled the special grand jury.
The Fulton DA said she decided to open an investigation after the January 2, 2021 phone call between the former president and Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger in which Trump allegedly asked Raffensperger to “find” the votes he needed to win Georgia.
Meadows, who held a prominent role in the Trump White House in the weeks after the 2020 election, traveled to Georgia during the state’s post-election audit and was also on the phone call between Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger and then-President Trump.
To force Meadows to testify, Willis obtained the approval of local courts in South Carolina where Meadows resides.
Meadows argued that his appearance before the grand jury should be blocked by executive privilege.
However, the lower courts did not agree. Nor did the South Carolina Supreme Court.
The ruling came just one week after South Carolina Senator Lindsey Graham testified before the Fulton County grand jury after months of legal wrangling to stop it.
Graham allegedly made several phone calls to Brad Raffensperger in the weeks after the 2020 election which prompted the interest of DA Willis’ investigators.
Senator Graham had argued that his calls with Raffensperger were “legislative fact-finding” as part of his due diligence before the January 6, 2021 vote to certify the election results.
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