Judge orders Gingrich to testify in Georgia 2020 election probe
FILE - Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich speaks before former President Donald Trump at an America First Policy Institute agenda summit at the Marriott Marquis in Washington, July 26, 2022. The House panel investigating the Jan. 6 insurrection is seeking information from Gingrich about his communications with senior advisors to former President Donald Trump in the days leading up to the 2021 attack on the Capitol. (AP Photo/Andrew Harnik, File)
A Virginia judge on Wednesday ordered former U.S. House Speaker Newt Gingrich (R-Ga.) to testify in front of a Fulton County, Ga., special grand jury probe investigating former President Trump’s efforts to overturn the 2020 election in the state.
At a Wednesday hearing, Fairfax County Circuit Court Judge Robert J. Smith rejected an argument from Gingrich’s legal team and sided with prosecutors who said his testimony should be enforced, according to The Associated Press.
Gingrich’s lawyer is expected to appeal the ruling, the AP noted. If an appeal fails, Gingrich will testify on Nov. 29.
Gingrich, who lives in northern Virginia, had argued two points before the judge, the first being that he should not be required to testify in an out-of-state probe because the special grand jury in the case lacks the power to indict, according to the AP.
In his second argument, Gingrich said he has already agreed to testify to the House committee investigating the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol — so his testimony in Georgia was moot.
But Smith said federal law does not parse out a difference between special grand juries and regular grand juries, so he should testify, according to the AP.
And he sided with prosecutors who had argued that while there may be some overlap, the Georgia probe has different interests than the House select committee.
Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis (D) accused Gingrich in a petition last month of coordinating a plan to offer a fake slate of electors in Georgia so Trump could win the state in the 2020 election, the AP reported.
The House committee echoed those claims when it formally sought to interview Gingrich over the fall.
Willis launched her investigation into the 2020 election last year after Trump asked Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger (R) to “find” enough votes for him to carry the state after he lost to President Biden by around 11,000 votes.
She has since subpoenaed several high-profile Trump allies, including former personal attorney Rudy Giuliani and Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.), who fought hard to not testify but whose attempts to wriggle out of the subpoena was ultimately rejected by the U.S. Supreme Court.