Michael Flynn, the infamous one-time national security adviser to then-President Donald Trump, was ordered Tuesday to testify in the ongoing criminal investigation in Georgia by Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis into pro-Trump meddling after the 2020 elections.
Flynn unsuccessfully fought his subpoena in Florida court. Willis has repeatedly pursued approval from judges working in the vicinity of out-of-state witnesses as part of the routine process of obtaining these individuals’ testimony, and Mark Meadows — who was chief of staff in the Trump White House at the time of last year’s Capitol riot — suffered a similar loss in South Carolina court after a subpoena in Willis’s probe. According to a Georgia news outlet, Meadows is expected to testify later this month. Among other connections to the focus of Willis’s probe, he was involved with Trump’s infamous call to Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger after the 2020 presidential election.
As for Flynn, he was infamously involved in discussions of using military power to rerun portions of the 2020 election and seizing contested election machines, ideas that, if actually implemented, would no doubt have directly impacted Georgia and its voters. Former White Counsel Pat Cipollone rather directly denounced the idea of taking federal control of election equipment in testimony to the House committee investigating January 6. Cipollone served in that role as Flynn made his pushes.
The push for Flynn’s testimony for Willis was approved on Tuesday afternoon by Judge Charles Roberts in Sarasota, according to journalist Tamar Hallerman. Like Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.), who unsuccessfully challenged Willis’s subpoena for his testimony all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court and is set to testify later this week, Flynn retains options for further challenges to his subpoena, although it was unclear if he would pursue them. “Judge Roberts also denied a motion for a stay but said his order doesn’t preclude Flynn from seeking one from an appellate court,” according to Hallerman’s reporting. Willis is also hearing from figures including Georgia GOP Governor Brian Kemp, who faced some of the then-president’s pressure after the 2020 presidential election. Even Newt Gingrich, who once served as a Congressman from Georgia and more recently became an ally to Trump, is set to testify for Willis.
It's another win for the Fulton DA's office, compelling an out-of-state witness to come testify. Judge Roberts also denied a motion for a stay but said his order doesn't preclude Flynn from seeking one from an appellate court.
— Tamar Hallerman (@TamarHallerman) November 15, 2022
