“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,” McBurnie wrote in an executive order. “Sovereign immunity fends off civil suits, not criminal suits.” But the interview can wait, he said. “The question remains when the Governor will need to honor his subpoena,” McBurney wrote. “The answer is after the November 2022 general election. The Governor is in the midst of a re-election campaign and this criminal grand jury investigation should not be used by the District Attorney, the Governor’s opponent or the Governor himself to influence the outcome of these elections”. McBurney noted that “the Governor’s questioning will have limits” and said there would be issues of attorney-client privilege that would be off-limits to the grand jury and prosecutors. McBurney also showed how tough negotiations had become between Kemp’s team and the DA’s office, writing, “This subpoena came only after weeks of tortured and arduous negotiations to obtain an interview with the Governor — the details of which are not repeated here, except to note that both sides share responsibility for the torture and wrongs.” Katie Byrd, a spokeswoman for Kemp, said in a statement Monday that the judge’s decision was “consistent with our argument.” “Judge McBurney recognized the potential political impact of the timing of these proceedings and correctly stayed the Governor’s involvement until the November election,” Byrd said. “As we have done since April 2021, we will work with the DA’s office and the judge to ensure that the Governor’s limited role in the matters under investigation is available to the grand jury.”
Trump campaign lawyer to testify
McBurney also denied a motion to quash a subpoena for Trump campaign lawyer Kenneth Chesebrough. “There is no doubt that much of what Mr. Chesebrough did for the Trump campaign is privileged,” the judge wrote in his order. “However, as the District Attorney pointed out, there are also areas of interest to the special purpose grand jury that are not off limits: Mr. Chesebro’s background and experience, his knowledge of both Georgia and federal election law, the his communications with Republican Party officials in Georgia after the 2020 general election, his interactions with people in Georgia seeking to prepare “alternate” elector rolls weeks after the final vote count showed former President Trump losing by more than 10,000 votes in Georgia, etc. legitimate, relevant, non-protected areas of inquiry for the grand special purpose court, quashal is inappropriate.” McBurney instructed the district attorney’s office and Chesebro’s attorneys to settle any questions that might touch on privilege or confidentiality issues before his appearance. According to previous court filings, Chesebro had been ordered to appear before a grand jury on Aug. 30. This story has been updated with additional information Monday.
