Limits set for lawmaker testimony in Georgia election probe

Fulton County Superior Court Judge Robert McBurney instructs potential jurors during proceedings to seat a special purpose grand jury in Fulton County, Georgia, on Monday, May 2, 2022, to look into the actions of former President Donald Trump and his supporters who tried to overturn the results of the 2020 election. (AP Photo/Ben Gray, File)

Georgia lawmakers appearing before a special grand jury in the investigation into whether former President Donald Trump and others illegally meddled in the state’s 2020 election have broad immunity but can be asked about their conversations with people outside of the legislature, a judge has ruled.

A former state lawmaker and Georgia’s lieutenant governor had asked the judge to quash subpoenas seeking their testimony before the special grand jury, citing legislative privilege and immunity.

Fulton County Superior Court Judge Robert McBurney, who’s overseeing the special grand jury, wrote in an order Wednesday that the pair must comply with the subpoenas, but he set limits on what grand jurors may ask them and other state lawmakers who are summoned.