A special grand jury in Georgia has recommended charges against one current and two former U.S. senators, as well as 18 other associates of former President Donald Trump, according to a recently released report. However, prosecutors have decided not to indict them for alleged efforts to overturn the 2020 election results in the state.
The special grand jury report, which was posted online, provides insight into the secret jury’s investigations and sheds light on who else was probed and how close they came to facing charges.
In total, the special grand jury recommended charges against 39 individuals, including Mr. Trump. Eventually, 19 people, including the former president, were charged in connection with an alleged conspiracy to overturn the election results. All of the accused have pleaded not guilty.
The grand jury spent seven months interviewing approximately 75 witnesses and had broad investigative powers to recommend charges based on their findings, although they lacked the authority to indict.
The report reveals that there was dissent among the 23-member panel, with two jurors voting against recommending charges for individuals accused of posing as false electors. They believed they had been misled about their civic duty.
While there was more consensus regarding charging Mr. Trump and his top attorneys, including Rudy Giuliani and John Eastman, there was a more pronounced split over whether to charge the senators, Lindsey Graham, Kelly Loeffler, and David Perdue.
The report notes that one dissenting juror believed Loeffler and Perdue had made false statements about the election results while running for re-election, but this did not necessarily constitute a criminal conspiracy.
The report does not specify the actions each senator took that could result in charges, but it is known that they publicly supported Trump’s efforts to challenge the election results, despite no evidence of widespread fraud.
Graham’s call to Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger was also scrutinized, where he inquired about the possibility of discarding certain postal ballots. Graham denied any wrongdoing, stating he was merely doing his job.
In response to the report, Trump questioned its credibility and accused jurors of wanting to indict anyone they could find. Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis created the special grand jury after the 2020 election, which had investigative powers. Another grand jury later indicted Trump and 18 co-defendants on racketeering charges related to the election.
Mr. Trump, a leading contender for the 2024 Republican presidential nomination, has been criminally indicted four times, including in the Georgia case, and has consistently criticized the prosecutions as politically motivated attempts to thwart his presidential ambitions.
