However, Fulton County Superior Court Judge Robert CI McBurney also delayed Kemp’s appearance before the grand jury until “some date soon after” Election Day in November. Kemp, who is running for re-election against Democrat Stacey Abrams, has claimed the investigation is politically motivated. In his six-page order, the judge denied Kemp’s request to throw out the subpoena, while acknowledging the investigation’s potential impact on the upcoming Nov. 8 election. “The Governor must honor the subpoena — as must the Secretary of State and the Attorney General and many other State agents in these criminal proceedings,” McBurney wrote. Even so, he added that the investigation should not be used by anyone — including Kemp himself — to influence the outcome of the election. “The proper and prudent course is to let the election proceed without further appeals or other activity regarding the Governor’s involvement,” McBurney wrote. The judge concluded that “Once the election is over, the Court expects the Governor’s legal team to immediately make arrangements for his appearance.” The ruling is seen as a partial victory for Kemp, whose lawyers had at least tried to delay any testimony until after the election. McBurney previously expressed skepticism about Republican arguments that the prosecution, led by Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis (D), was politically motivated. “It’s not my place” to focus on politics, McBurney said last week, as Kemp’s lawyers argued that the subpoena had already become a political issue this election season. “I don’t think it’s the right forum” to discuss the political implications of the case, the judge said. In his order, McBurney rejected Kemp’s claim that his position as governor shielded him from having to testify in what Kemp’s lawyers described as a political proceeding. McBurney stressed that the grand jury is undoubtedly investigating possible criminal activity and that its final report will recommend whether the prosecutor should prosecute. The legal maneuver is the the latest sign of tension between prosecutors and high-profile witnesses in the Fulton County District Attorney’s sprawling criminal investigation into alleged election meddling by Trump and his allies. Last week, a federal appeals court temporarily stayed an order that would have required Sen. Lindsey O. Graham (RS.C.) to testify before a Georgia grand jury. Graham had formally appealed a judge’s order requiring him to testify last week, saying doing so would cause “irreparable harm” that would be “in violation of his constitutional immunity.” The U.S. Court of Appeals for the 11th Circuit temporarily stayed his appearance, asking a lower court to consider whether Graham should be shielded from answering certain questions about his official duties as a U.S. senator. A federal judge set an expedited deadline to resolve the questions this week. After asking for repeated delays, Rudy Giuliani, Trump’s former lawyer, testified for six hours before a grand jury earlier this month. The panel also heard testimony from Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger (R) and his staff, Georgia Attorney General Christopher M. Carr (D), state legislators and local election workers. Tom Hamburger and Matthew Brown contributed to this report.
