Trump Ally Jody Hice Dodges Subpoena From Criminal Election Interference Probe – For Now

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Rep. Jody Hice — an ally of former President Donald Trump who helped plot the effort to overturn the election — has dodged a subpoena that would have forced him before a grand jury on Tuesday.

Hice was served a subpoena from Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis to appear before a special grand jury investigating Trump’s effort to overturn election results in Georgia. Hice was ordered to appear Tuesday, but notified Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi, on Friday, that he’d be trying to move the issue to federal court and fight it there.

“Upholding my responsibilities as a member of this legislative body, I am communicating to you that I have been requested to testify before the Fulton County, Georgia special purpose grand jury on July 19, 2022. Additionally, pursuant to 28 U.S.C. 1442(a)(l), I will be asking for removal to the United States District Court for the Northern District of Georgia,” Hice wrote, according to a Congressional Record entry flagged by Politico’s Kyle Cheney and Nicholas Wu.

That effort has succeeded for the time being, according to a court filing:

The subpoena, which Hice received on June 29, orders him to appear before the special grand jury in Atlanta on Tuesday, his lawyer said in a court filing. Hice on Monday filed a motion to quash the subpoena in federal court in Atlanta.

Any discussions Hice had as he investigated “alleged irregularities” in the election were within his authority as a member of Congress and are shielded by the U.S. Constitution from any legal proceedings and inquiry, his lawyer wrote in the filing. High-ranking officials, such as members of Congress, also should not be called as witnesses unless the information that they could provide cannot be obtained from another source, the filing says.

Hice is challenging the subpoena in federal court rather than before the Fulton County Superior Court judge who’s overseeing the special grand jury.

That hearing has been set for July 25.

Trump endorsed Hice in his bid to unseat Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger — whom Trump pressured to “find” enough votes to win the state in an infamous phone recording — a bid that failed miserably.