Rep. Jody Hice, R-Ga., walks down the House steps of the Capitol on Thursday, April 28, 2022.
Bill Clark | Cq-roll Call, Inc. | Getty Images
A Georgia special grand jury that is investigating former President Donald Trump for possibly criminal interference in that state’s 2020 election issued a subpoena seeking testimony Tuesday from Rep. Jody Hice, a Georgia Republican, court records show.
The same grand jury in Atlanta previously was known to have subpoenaed other Trump allies, among them Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., who has asked a federal judge in his home state to quash that demand.
On Monday, Hice’s lawyer Loree Anne Paradise filed a notice that she was removing issues related to the subpoena from Georgia state court to U.S. District Court in Georgia. The action lays the groundwork for Hice to likely challenge the subpoena, just as Graham is already doing.
Hice backed Trump in his efforts to overturn Georgia’s election in 2020, which President Joe Biden won. On the heels of the Jan. 6 Capitol riot, during which a horde of Trump supporters invaded the halls of Congress, Hice voted against certifying Biden’s victory.
In May, Hice lost a primary race in which he sought to replace Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger as their party’s nominee for that office in this fall’s general election.
Raffensperger in January 2021 resisted a direct request from Trump to help him “find” enough votes in Georgia to reverse Biden’s victory in the state.
Hice was subpoenaed by the Fulton County Court grand jury on June 29, according to that notice from Paradise.
It was not clear why he waited until Monday to have his lawyer Paradise remove the subpoena to federal court.
CNBC has requested comment from Paradise.