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Lindsey Graham was among three Republican US senators and other allies of Donald Trump who were recommended for criminal charges by a Georgia grand jury.
Drew Angerer/Getty Images
- A Georgia grand jury recommended criminal charges against three Republican US senators and other allies of Donald Trump.
- This forms part of an investigation into efforts to overturn Trump’s 2020 presidential defeat.
- The grand jury recommended charging Georgia’s two senators at the time, Kelly Loeffler and David Perdue, as well as Senator Lindsey Graham of South Carolina.
A Georgia grand jury recommended criminal charges against three Republican US senators and other allies of Donald Trump as part of its investigation into efforts to overturn Trump’s 2020 presidential defeat, according to a report released on Friday.
None were ultimately charged when Georgia prosecutors filed a sweeping criminal case against Trump and 18 alleged co-conspirators. Of 39 people recommended for charges by the special grand jury, 19, including Trump, were indicted.
The special grand jury recommended charging Georgia’s two senators at the time, Kelly Loeffler and David Perdue, as well as Senator Lindsey Graham of South Carolina, the report showed.
The panel also recommended charges against Trump’s former national security adviser Michael Flynn, adviser Boris Epshteyn and lawyers Lin Wood and Cleta Mitchell, the report showed.
READ | Trump loses key ruling ahead of writer Carroll’s defamation trial
Graham, a former Trump rival-turned-golf-buddy, asked Georgia officials to examine absentee ballots after the Republican president’s defeat.
He has said his behavior was appropriate because he was entitled to examine state election activity as chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee. He fought a subpoena ordering him to testify but was ultimately told to do so by the U.S. Supreme Court.
Loeffler and Perdue, both Trump loyalists, were defeated by Democratic candidates in January 2021 runoff elections. Perdue ran unsuccessfully for governor in 2022.
The special grand jury convened in 2021 at the request of Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis to aid her investigation. Over several months, the jurors subpoenaed testimony from 75 witnesses, including Trump allies such as his former attorney Rudy Giuliani, Graham and top Georgia officials such as Governor Brian Kemp.
The special grand jury in Fulton County recommended charges against Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham of South Carolina and former GOP Sens. David Perdue of Georgia and Kelly Loeffler, the newly released special grand jury report shows.Follow live updates: https://t.co/mmiEiIYLoN pic.twitter.com/5hELf1Jr0j
— CNN (@CNN) September 8, 2023
The special grand jury did not have the power to issue charges. But Willis used the evidence it gathered to seek an indictment from a regular grand jury last month that accused Trump and his co-defendants of overseeing a wide-ranging conspiracy to sabotage Democrat Joe Biden’s statewide victory.
The indictment listed 30 unindicted co-conspirators, who have not been charged but allegedly played a role in the scheme.
All 19 defendants have pleaded not guilty. As with his three other criminal prosecutions, Trump has denied any wrongdoing and said he is the victim of political persecution.
READ | Meadows, other Trump allies plead not guilty in Georgia election case
Despite his legal troubles, he remains the front-runner for the Republican presidential nomination next year against Biden, the incumbent.
The special grand jury report remained secret for nine months at Willis’s request while she determined what charges to bring. With the indictments issued, Fulton County Superior Court Judge Robert McBurney wrote in an order last week, there is no longer any reason to keep it from the public.
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