TOO BAD

Judge Orders Georgia Guv to Testify in Trump Election Probe

Kemp tried to fight a subpoena to appear before a grand jury in Atlanta and lost.

A judge ruled Monday that Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp is required to testify before a special grand jury in Atlanta that’s investigating former President Donald Trump’s actions in the aftermath of the 2020 presidential election—but not until after the Nov. 8 election. Fulton County Superior Court Judge Robert McBurney rejected a claim from Kemp’s attorneys insisting that as governor, he was immune from having to testify before a grand jury convened by Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis. McBurney said Kemp’s immunity applies to civil cases and not criminal ones. However, the judge agreed to delay this required appearance until after the upcoming race against Democrat Stacey Abrams, saying his testimony “should not be used by either the DA, the governor’s opponent or the governor himself” to influence the outcome of the gubernatorial election. Other state officials, including Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger, have already testified before the grand jury, which wants to question Kemp about Trump’s efforts to have him help overturn the 2020 election results. Kemp, who resisted that pressure campaign, was scheduled for a July 25 video interview with prosecutors before negotiations over the rules fell apart. After an Aug. 4 subpoena, he was set to appear on Aug. 18 but asked the subpoena be quashed in a motion he filed the evening before. In a reply to that motion, Willis and Kemp accused the other of playing politics.