Morris News Service
SAVANNAH, Ga. --- Saxby Chambliss is resisting an order to give evidence in a lawsuit by families of victims killed or hurt in the Imperial Sugar Co. explosions and fire earlier this year.
The U.S. senator was subpoenaed last month on behalf of four victims -- two dead and two injured -- of the Feb. 7 Port Wentworth inferno that killed 14 workers.
Savannah attorney Mark Tate, who issued the subpoena, said the Republican lawmaker tried to talk some of Mr. Tate's clients out of suing Imperial Sugar.
Mr. Chambliss has said that as a U.S. senator, he does not have to comply with the subpoena.
He is due to testify under oath soon and has been ordered to produce papers and e-mails provided to him by Imperial, related companies and Imperial's law firm.
But Mr. Tate said the senator's lawyers have told him they'll ask Chatham County State Judge Herman Coolidge to toss out the subpoena.
Augusta attorney David Hudson, who says he researched the matter, agrees with the senator's attorneys. He said a state court might not require a federal official to respond to an order to testify about his official duties.
The U.S. Supreme Court has ruled that members of Congress need not testify in civil lawsuits about "speech or debate," Mr. Hudson said. Even if Mr. Chambliss were willing to supply documents, he said, Senate rules prohibit him from disclosing "papers presented to the Senate or a senator" unless ordered by the Senate.
Mr. Tate said he believes Imperial enlisted Mr. Chambliss to help discredit Graham H. Graham, Imperial's vice president for operations, and bias potential jurors.
