Supreme Court temporarily holds action over Sen. Lindsey Graham subpoena battle in Georgia

WASHINGTON – Associate Justice Clarence Thomas on Monday temporarily blocked a grand jury in Georgia from subpoenaing Sen. Lindsey Graham over his involvement in the state after the 2020 election while the Supreme Court considers his appeal.

Graham, a South Carolina Republican and close ally of former President Donald Trump, on Friday had asked the Supreme Court to intervene to block the subpoena. The high court asked for additional written arguments in the litigation by Thursday evening. Thomas' temporary stay will hold any action in the case until those briefs are reviewed.

Thomas handles emergency appeals from Georgia and can act on the request himself or refer it to the full court.

A three-judge panel of the U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals for the 11th Circuit had ruled Thursday in favor of Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis, who wants to question Graham about phone calls he made to Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger in the weeks after the election. Willis has until Thursday evening to respond to Graham's emergency appeal to the high court.

Contributing: Associated Press 

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Supreme Court temporarily pauses Sen. Lindsey Graham subpoena battle