Lindsey Graham must testify in Georgia election probe

Senator Lindsey Graham must testify about 2020 election interference; the Taliban marks one year of ruling Afghanistan.

Tonight's Sentences was written by Jariel Arvin.

Lindsey Graham must appear before a special grand jury

 Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images

• Sen. Lindsey Graham must appear before an Atlanta special grand jury investigating Donald Trump’s efforts to overturn the results of the 2020 election, a federal judge said Monday. [CNN / Jason Morris and Nick Valencia]
• Graham argued he was immune to being subpoenaed because the Constitution protects lawmakers performing legislative duties. However, Judge Leigh Martin May said the district attorney’s evidence showed his testimony would fall outside those protections. [USA Today / Kevin Johnson]
• Investigators want to hear Graham’s account of what happened before, during, and after he made two phone calls to Georgia officials about the 2020 election. [Politico / Kyle Cheney, Nicholas Wu, and Josh Gerstein]
• Georgia election officials claim Graham asked them to throw out absentee ballots during those conversations. Prosecutors want to know if Graham was part of Trump’s pressure campaign on officials to find votes. [Axios / Emma Hurt]
• The judge ordered Graham to appear as a witness before the grand jury on August 23. Graham said in a statement Monday he would appeal the ruling. [CBS News / Graham Kates]

Afghanistan, one year later

• Monday, the Taliban marked the first anniversary of retaking control of Afghanistan with a national holiday. [BBC]
• A year ago, the US and other nations hastily withdrew from Afghanistan, ending more than two decades of involvement. The Taliban quickly assumed control and promised reforms. [NBC News / Khalid Mowahid and Henry Austin]
• Those reforms include repressing free speech and women’s rights, as well as using police state tactics to enforce a strict interpretation of Islamic law. [New York Times / Christina Goldbaum and David Zucchino]
• The US and international community have cut back humanitarian aid in response to the Taliban’s restrictions. Most Afghan people now face hunger amid the lapse in assistance. [Washington Post / Ishaan Tharoor]

Kraft Heinz is recalling thousands of cases of Capri Sun after announcing packets of the Wild Cherry flavor could contain cleaning solution. [NBC News / Elisha Fieldstadt]

• Former Trump lawyer Rudy Giuliani is reportedly a target in Georgia’s investigation into 2020 election meddling. [New York Times / Richard Fausset and Danny Hakim]
• Author Salman Rushdie is off a ventilator and recovering in the hospital from a Friday attack that left him with severe injuries. [CNN / Nouran Salahieh]
• Olivia Troye, a White House national security advisor for the Trump administration, said she once found classified documents in the ladies’ room. [Insider / Katie Balevic]

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“I have been struck that much of Washington has appeared keen to essentially put Afghanistan in the rearview mirror and try to move on.”

[Michael Kugelman, a senior associate for South Asia at the Wilson Center think tank / Reuters]

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