Georgia jury recommended criminal charges not pursued for Lindsey Graham, Trump allies

A Georgia grand jury recommended criminal charges against three Republican U.S. 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 that was announced on Aug. 14. Of 39 people recommended for charges by the special grand jury, Trump and 18 others were indicted.

The special grand jury recommended charging longtime U.S. Sen. Lindsey Graham of South Carolina, and Georgia's two former senators, Kelly Loeffler and David Perdue. The votes were not unanimous, however.

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.

Graham, a former Trump rival-turned-ally, asked Georgia officials to examine absentee ballots after the Republican president's defeat.

He has said his behaviour was appropriate because he was entitled to examine state election activity as chair of the U.S. Senate's judiciary committee.

"We can't criminalize senators doing their job," he said at a news conference in South Carolina on Friday. "The next election, if I have questions I'll do the same thing."

1 'no' vote on Trump counts

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 Gov.Brian Kemp.

Willis was not obligated to follow the jury's recommendations, and may have disagreed that the individuals cited but not indicted actually broke state law. As well, a county prosecutor indicting a sitting U.S. senator for federal election offences would have likely led to legal challenges over jurisdiction.

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Trump's indictments explained: Why Georgia is charging him like a 'Mob boss' | About That

1 year ago

Duration 15:05

Former U.S. president Donald Trump is facing criminal charges for the fourth time, after a Georgia grand jury issued a sweeping indictment accusing him of trying to overturn his 2020 election loss to Joe Biden and of running a criminal enterprise. Andrew Chang explains all of the charges, and why the latest are so significant.

Notably, many of the tallies to indict Trump on various charges featured one 'no' vote. It's not clear if it was one person consistently voting no, or if the no votes were spread out among jurors depending on the count.

While the special grand jury consisted of over 20 members more than would hear the case in a criminal trial it illustrates that a conviction against Trump is not a guarantee.

The sprawling indictment detailed dozens of alleged acts by Trump or 18 others to undo his defeat against U.S. President Joe Biden, including beseeching Georgia's Republican secretary of state to find enough votes for him to win the battleground state; harassing an election worker who faced false claims of fraud; and attempting to persuade Georgia lawmakers to ignore the will of voters and appoint a new slate of electoral college electors favourable to Trump.

The case, filed under Georgia's Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act, or RICO, sees Trump face 13 counts including soliciting a public officer to violate their oath, conspiring to impersonate a public officer, conspiring to commit forgery in the first degree and conspiring to file false documents.

Trump, again vying for the Republican presidential nomination, has pleaded not guilty. When surrendering to the charges last month, he was subjected to a historic first-ever mug shot of a former U.S. president.

Legal manoeuvring in effect

Lawyers Kenneth Chesebro and Sidney Powell, among the 18 other defendants, have exercised their right to demand a speedy trial in the case. Fulton County Superior Court Judge Scott McAfee this week set an Oct. 23 trial date for the pair, but seemed skeptical of prosecutors' arguments that all 19 defendants could be tried together that soon.

Former White House chief of staff Mark Meadows, a meanwhile, had soughtto get the case moved to federal court, arguing that he was acting as a federal officer at the time. But a judge denied that request on Friday.

There is some overlap in the allegations in the Georgia case with charges Trump faces in a federal indictment filed by the office of special counsel Jack Smith, under the aegis of the Justice Department. That indictment charges Trump with four felony counts related to his efforts to undo his 2020 election loss, including conspiracy to defraud the U.S. government and conspiracy to obstruct an official proceeding.

In either case, conviction could lead to a years-long prison sentence though appeals, perhaps all the way up to the Supreme Court, would reasonably be expected.

A trial date for that federal case has been set for March 4, 2024.

The Georgia case differs in that neither Trump, nor any Republican who were to become president, would be able to issue a pardon in the event of a conviction given it is a state case.

Trump faces two other criminal indictments handed down since March. As with the election interference matters, they stem from investigations that began long before he announced last November his plans to run for president in 2024.

Trump has slammed each of the prosecutions, declaring his innocence in each instance. He faces a New York state trial beginning on March 25, 2024, involving allegations of the falsification of business records in connection with hush money payments to three individuals, including two women who said they had extramarital affairs with Trump.

He also faces a federal trial slated to begin in May 2024 where he faces Espionage Act charges, as well as an obstruction of justice charge, related to the accusation that he unlawfully retained government documents. Most of the documents were classified and some designated as top secret.