Georgia special grand jury recommended charges for Sens. Lindsey Graham, David Perdue, Kelly Loeffler
A special grand jury recommended last year that Atlanta’s district attorney charge three current and former US senators for allegedly aiding former President Donald Trump’s attempts to reverse his 2020 election loss.
The panel urged Fulton County DA Fani Willis to indict Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) and former Sens. Kelly Loeffler (R-Ga.) and David Perdue R-Ga.), according to its 28-page report, released Friday.
Willis, an elected Democrat, indicted Trump and 18 alleged co-conspirators on Aug. 14 on charges including racketeering, historically used against organized crime. She has not explained her decision not to charge the senators.
Graham testified to the grand jury in November last year about his actions following the 2020 election — after unsuccessfully suing to block a subpoena by citing the Constitution’s Speech or Debate clause.
Grand jurors voted 13-7 in favor of indicting the four-term senator, according to the grand jury report.
Graham apparently was in the panel’s crosshairs because of his post-election outreach to Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger.
Raffensperger, a fellow Republican, said Graham asked him about matching ballots to voters, which he felt implied that the senator wanted to throw out some votes.
“I had questions, as did many others, about how the mail ballot process worked in Georgia and other locations. I did my due diligence. At the end of the day, I voted to certify the election results from every state including Georgia,” Graham said Friday.
“It should never be a crime for a federal elected official, particularly the chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, who will have to vote to certify a presidential election, to question and ensure the integrity of that election.”
More jurors voted to charge Loeffler and Perdue, both of whom narrowly lost re-election in a pair of run-offs held Jan. 5, 2021, amid Republican infighting over Trump’s loss.
Panel members voted 14-6 to indict Loeffler and 17-4 in favor of charging Perdue.
Willis may have opted against indicting the pro-Trump senators because the grand jury breakdown indicated difficulty winning a conviction at trial.
Other Trump allies listed in the document but not ultimately charged include former national security adviser Michael Flynn, Boris Epshteyn, a top adviser to the 45th president, and attorney Lin Wood.
Grand jurors voted 20-1 in favor of indicting each of Flynn, Epshteyn and Wood — raising questions about Willis’ decision not to charge them.
An attorney for Flynn, Jesse Binnall, said in a statement that the unsealed report “reveals even more corruption by a politically-motivated prosecutor with one goal: to take down President Trump and his associates, and interfere in the 2024 election.
“This baseless witch hunt isn’t based on the facts, or the law, or reality,” Binnall added. “It’s all just fruit of the same poisonous tree that we’ve seen time and time again — and is designed to destroy the country and undermine the values that make this nation great. Sadly, this is the threat we face and what’s at stake in 2024. General Michael Flynn will continue to fight for the truth, for America First principles, and for Donald Trump’s return to The White House in 2024.”
The panel also voted 20-1 in favor of indicting Trump, former White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows, former Trump personal attorney Rudy Giuliani and other co-defendants in the case. Willis accepted those recommendations.
