The Georgia grand jury that recommended charges against former President Donald Trump and 18 other co-defendants also recommended charges be brought against former National Security Advisor Michael Flynn, a sitting U.S. senator, and two former U.S. senators.
The Fulton County special grand jury’s final report was unsealed on Friday. It revealed that grand jurors voted 13-7 to indict Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC), who was compelled by the Supreme Court to give testimony to the grand jury about his actions related to contesting Georgia’s election in 2020.
Grand jurors also recommended that former Sens. David Perdue (R-GA) and Kelly Loeffler (R-GA) be charged.
According to the New York Post, Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger said Graham had asked him to audit his state’s election by matching ballots cast to voters, which Raffensperger allegedly took to mean the senator wanted some votes disqualified.
Graham took issue with Raffensperger’s interpretation of the call and argued that his actions were protected under the Constitution’s Speech or Debate Clause, per CNN.
After the indictments against Trump and his co-defendants were announced, Graham told reporters that although he testified before the grand jury, it did not mean he was cooperating with the prosecution.
“I went, had my time, and I haven’t heard from them since,” he said, according to The New York Times.
The report states that the grand jury panel voted 14-6 to indict Loeffler and 17-4 to indict Perdue. The grand jury voted 21-1 in favor of indicting Flynn, whom Trump had previously pardoned after the former national security advisor pleaded guilty to lying to the FBI.
The special grand jury recommended that roughly 40 people be indicted. According to the New York Post, Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis might have chosen not to indict in some cases because the grand jury vote suggested that achieving a conviction might be difficult. Non-indictment could also portend a federal case is imminent or the possibility of an immunity deal.
