Extract from ABC News
A report released on Friday has revealed that a special grand jury investigating efforts to overturn Georgia's 2020 presidential election results recommended indictments against a much larger group than prosecutors ultimately charged, including one current and two former US senators.
Key points:
- The report reveals the jury voted for indictments against senator Lindsay Graham and two ex-senators, among other Trump allies
- 19 of the 39 people recommended were ultimately charged
- Donald Trump said the report showed the case was politically motivated
The nine-page report showed jurors recommended charges against 39 people, compared to the 18 who were charged along with former president Donald Trump.
The special grand jury recommended charges against Lindsey Graham, a longtime senator who represents South Carolina, as well as Georgia's two US senators at the time, Kelly Loeffler and David Perdue, the report said. Like Mr Trump, all are Republicans.
Mr Graham, a Trump rival turned golf buddy, denied wrongdoing and said he was fulfilling his oversight duties as the top politician on the Senate Judiciary Committee when he asked Georgia officials to examine absentee ballots after Mr Trump's defeat.
"We can't criminalise 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," he said.
The panel also recommended charges against Mr Trump's former national security adviser Michael Flynn, adviser Boris Epshteyn and lawyers Lin Wood and Cleta Mitchell, the report showed.
Parts of the report, which has 19 pages of appendices, had been released in February, but a judge had delayed the release of any recommendations for specific charges against specific people until after last month's indictment.
It was unclear why Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis opted not to bring charges against the additional people, and her office did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The special grand jury did not have the power to issue charges, but Ms Willis used the evidence it gathered to seek an indictment of Mr Trump and his 18 co-defendants from a regular grand jury last month.
Responding to the report's release on Friday, Mr Trump said it showed Ms Willis's case was politically motivated.
"They wanted to indict anybody who happened to be breathing at the time," he wrote on social media.
Mr Trump and the other defendants in the case have pleaded not guilty. As with his three other criminal prosecutions, Mr Trump has denied any wrongdoing and said he is the victim of political persecution.
Ms Loeffler and Mr Perdue, both Trump loyalists, were defeated by Democratic candidates in January 2021 runoff elections.
Neither immediately responded to a request for comment.
A longtime Trump political adviser, Mr Epshteyn was involved in efforts to overturn Mr Trump's loss and has since been advising the former president on the legal threats he now faces.
Mr Wood, a conservative lawyer who promoted conspiracy efforts about the election, denied wrongdoing and said he was surprised to find out the special grand jury recommended charges against him.
"I'm not quite sure why my name is in it," he told Reuters. He has since retired in the face of disciplinary bar proceedings.
The special grand jury convened in 2021 at the request of Ms 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 Governor Brian Kemp.
The special grand jury did not act unanimously.
It voted 13-7, 14-6 and 17-4 in favour of indicting Mr Graham, Mr Loeffler and Mr Perdue, respectively.
The grand jury voted 20-1 in favour of indicting Mr Trump with respect to the national effort to overturn the election.
The indictment listed 30 unindicted co-conspirators, who have not been charged but allegedly played a role in the scheme.
Despite his legal troubles, Mr Trump remains the frontrunner for the Republican presidential nomination next year against Joe Biden, the incumbent.
The special grand jury report remained secret at Ms Willis's request while she determined what charges to bring.
With the indictments issued, Fulton County Superior Court Judge Robert McBurney ruled there was no longer any reason to keep it from the public.
Reuters/AP
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