ATLANTA — A Virginia judge rejected efforts by former U.S. House speaker Newt Gingrich to avoid testifying in the Fulton County probe investigating President Donald Trump's attempts to overturn 2020 election results in Georgia.
Multiple media outlets, including USA Today and the Associated Press, reported that Fairfax County Circuit Court Judge Robert Smith sided with prosecutors that the subpoena be enforced.
Attorneys for Gingrich argued that the former Georgia congressman should not be made to travel to Atlanta because his appearance is not necessary. Gingrich agreed to appear before the Jan. 6 committee later this month, and his testimony in both hearings would be largely the same.
Gingrich also argued that the special grand jury didn't have the power to indict. Therefore, federal law requiring states to honor out-of-state summons should not apply.
The Associated Press reports that John Burlingame, Gingrich's attorney, will appeal the ruling. If the appeal fails, Gingrich will testify Nov. 29.
Attempts to contact Smith and Burlingame were unsuccessful before publication. 11Alive will update this story when responses are received.
The Fulton County DA's Office alleges in court filings that Gingrich and others associated with Trump's campaign were involved in multiple plans in the aftermath of the 2020 presidential election. One of those plans was to air television ads that made false claims about election fraud in 2020 and encouraged people to pressure state officials to overturn election results.
Prosecutors allege that Gingrich "possesses unique knowledge concerning the circumstances surrounding public television advertisements relying on false claims of election fraud, the meetings of Republican electors in various states on December 14, 2020, and communications between himself, the Trump Campaign, and other known and unknown individuals involved in the multi-state, coordinated efforts to influence the results of the November 2020 election in Georgia and elsewhere," according to Fulton County court documents.