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Sen. Lindsey Graham, whose testimony is being sought by Georgia prosecutors investigating efforts to overturn the state's 2020 election results, was just handed a lifeline from right-wing Justice Clarence Thomas — at least temporarily.
On Monday, Thomas issued a “shadow docket” decision briefly protecting Graham from having to comply with a subpoena issued by a Fulton County special grand jury.
The decision comes after Graham filed a request to the Supreme Court on Friday asking that he be excused from having to testify. The ruling allows Graham to duck testimony as the Supreme Court considers whether to take up his case.
Like former President Donald Trump, Graham is known to have called Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger after the 2020 election to discuss Biden’s victory. Raffensperger has openly said Graham’s call was an attempt to pressure him into throwing out votes in districts that went heavily for Biden. Graham has admitted to the call, but he denies he pressured Georgia election officials and claims the call was him acting on his official duties as a senator.
Graham's repeated attempts to skirt testimony have been rebuffed in lower courts. It's unclear whether he will find a sympathetic ear (or ears) on the Supreme Court.
Though Thomas could ultimately agree with Graham’s efforts to evade testimony, his decision on Monday doesn’t necessarily signal which way the court will rule. The Supreme Court has asked Fulton County investigators to respond by Thursday as it weighs Graham's emergency request.
Thomas’ decision is an administrative step and, as CNN noted, he likely “acted alone because he has jurisdiction of the lower court that issued the original order.”
Still, Thomas' record will likely do little to quell the public's concerns over the court's credibility. Thomas' wife, right-wing activist Ginni Thomas, feverishly pushed Team Trump's baseless election conspiracy theories. And yet, Justice Thomas has refused to recuse himself from cases related to Jan. 6, 2021. Text messages reportedly sent to then-White House chief of staff Mark Meadows and unearthed by the House Jan. 6 Committee show Ginni Thomas encouraged Meadows to overturn the results after the 2020 election, invoking talk of a holy war and claiming President Joe Biden would be imprisoned.
Ginni Thomas also briefly attended the pro-Trump rally at the Ellipse that immediately preceded the Capitol attack.
Justice Thomas has publicly claimed liberals’ disbelief in the conservative-leaning Supreme Court, stemming from several unpopular rulings, risks “destroying the institutions that are required for a free society.” But his evident disdain for impartiality, or even the appearance of it, is more damaging to the court’s legitimacy than anything else.
And his decision Monday surely doesn't help Americans who have widely lost faith in the court's credibility.