US Senator Lindsey Graham, on Friday, asked the Supreme Court to stay a lower court’s order that would force him to testify before a special grand jury in Georgia investigating whether then-President Donald Trump illegally tried to influence the 2020 election in the state.

Graham’s office described the filing as an attempt “to defend the Constitution and the institutional interest of the Senate.” The lower court’s ruling “would significantly impact the ability of senators to gather information in connection with doing their job.”

However, according to the appellate panel, his alleged actions like “communications and coordination with the Trump campaign regarding its post-election efforts in Georgia, public statements regarding the 2020 election, and efforts to ‘cajole’ or ‘exhort’ Georgia election officials” do not fall under the Speech or Debate Clause’s protection.

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The move is the latest in Graham’s ongoing fight to prevent his testimony. Some have already testified in the secret proceedings, including former New York mayor and Trump attorney Rudy Giuliani,  attorneys John Eastman and Kenneth Chesebro, and former White House counsel Pat Cipollone.

Who is Lindsey Graham?

Lindsey Graham has been serving as senior US senator from South Carolina since 2003. Graham chaired the Senate Committee on the Judiciary from 2019 to 2021.

Born in Central, South Carolina, the 67-year-old received his Juris Doctor degree from the University of South Carolina School of Law in 1981.

He served with the Judge Advocate General’s Corps in the United States Air Force. He was awarded a Bronze Star Medal for meritorious service in 2014 and held the rank of colonel.

Graham worked as a lawyer in private practice before serving one term in the South Carolina House of Representatives from 1993 to 1995. He served four terms for South Carolina’s 3rd congressional district from 1995 to 2003.

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In 2002, he won the US Senate seat vacated by retiring Republican incumbent Strom Thurmond. He was reelected to a fourth term in 2020.

Graham sought the Republican nomination for president between June and December 2015. But he dropped out before the 2016 Republican primaries began.

Graham has never been married and has no children.