Fulton County Grand Jury suggests charges for Sen. Lindsey Graham and 2 ex-GOP senators.

A Grand Jury Recommends ⁢Criminal Charges Against Sen. Lindsey Graham and ⁣Former GOP Senators

A grand jury in Fulton County, ‌Georgia, has recommended criminal charges against Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) as ⁣well as former GOP Sens. Kelly Loeffler and David Perdue, according to a report released⁤ on Friday.

The special grand jury panel said it​ heard from some 75 witnesses before completing a report in December​ with recommendations for Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis on charges related to efforts after the 2020 presidential election. Ms. Willis​ had said ‌she needed the ⁤panel’s subpoena power to compel the testimony ⁣of witnesses who might otherwise not have been willing to ‌appear.

However, Ms. Willis’ office ultimately indicted the 19 aforementioned people, which also included attorney Sidney⁤ Powell, former White House chief of staff Mark Meadows, ​former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani, former Trump lawyer Jenna Ellis, and more on charges that ⁤included violating Georgia’s anti-racketeering law. They have all pleaded not ​guilty.

Mr. Graham, Ms. Loeffler, Mr. Perdue, and others were not among those who were charged last month, and it’s not clear if they will be in the future. Both Ms. Loeffler and Mr. Perdue⁤ lost their ⁤elections in early‍ 2021, ⁢with current Sens. Raphael Warnock (D-Ga.) and Jon Ossoff (D-Ga.) prevailing.

Fulton County Superior Court Judge Robert McBurney ordered the partial release of the report recommending charges in‍ February ⁤but declined to immediately release the panel’s recommendations on who should or should not be prosecuted. The ‌judge said at the time that he wanted to protect people’s due process rights.

Judge McBurney said in a new order filed ⁣Aug. 28 that the due process concerns were moot ⁣since ⁢a regular grand jury has indicted President Trump and 18 other ⁢people under the state’s anti-racketeering law.

The parts of the report previously released in February included its introduction and conclusion, as well as a section in which the grand jurors expressed concerns that one or more witnesses may ‍have lied under oath and urged prosecutors to seek charges for perjury. The panel’s⁤ foreperson had said in news interviews that the special grand jurors had recommended that numerous ⁣people be indicted.

Even though the report was ​finally released to⁢ the public on‍ Friday, it’s not ⁣clear when—or if—the transcripts of witness testimony will be released.

The members of the grand jury ​panel, meanwhile, claimed that their⁢ findings⁣ to recommend charges came only ⁤from them and were not pressured by Ms. Willis’ office. They ⁣said ‌that the district attorney “had nothing to do‌ with the recommendations contained herein,” and⁤ the grand jury contained no legal experts or any criminal defense lawyers.

“The majority of this grand jury used their collective‌ best efforts, however, to attend every session, listen to every witness, and‌ attempt to understand the facts as presented and the laws as explained,” they wrote in the report—possibly in an attempt to‌ pre-empt any criticism of potential bias against former President Trump or the others.

The grand‍ jurors also stated that they believed​ the Georgia 2020 election wasn’t fraught⁢ with “widespread fraud,” ⁣contradicting longtime claims made by the former president and others.

As of Friday, Mr. Graham has not issued a public statement on the report that had recommended ‌charges. And⁢ neither Ret. Gen. Flynn, Mrs. Loeffler, Mr. Epshteyn, nor Mr. Perdue have released statements, too, as of Friday morning.

The⁤ charges appeared to have stemmed from a phone call⁤ that⁣ the longtime GOP senator‍ made to Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger, a longtime⁢ critic of President Trump, who claimed that Mr. Graham had asked him ⁢whether it was possible to invalidate legally cast ballots after the 2020 victory.