US
Jury recommended charges against senator Lindsey Graham in Trump investigation – but he wasn’t indicted
A grand jury helping the US prosecutor who indicted Donald Trump and 18 others had recommended charging more people, including senator Lindsey Graham and former national security adviser Michael Flynn.
According to a report released on Friday, the Georgia special grand jury investigating efforts to overturn Trump’s 2020 election defeat named 39 people that it recommended for indictment, but only 19 were charged.
The nine-page report identified Republican senator Mr Graham and Mr Flynn among 20 people not indicted.
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A spokesperson for Trump criticised the release as “biased” and “un-American”.
Mr Graham, a former Trump rival who then played golf with the former president, has not yet responded to requests for comment, while a lawyer who has represented Mr Flynn has not spoken either.
As well Mr Graham, the report shows the jury recommended charging Georgia’s two senators at the time, Kelly Loeffler and David Perdue.
Mr Graham asked officials in Georgia to look at absentee ballots following Trump’s defeat, though he defended his actions, saying he was entitled to examine election activity as chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee.
Trump allies Mr Loeffler and Mr Perdue lost in an election in January 2021.
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The panel in this case heard from 75 witnesses over seven months, before filing a report in December with recommendations for Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis.
The special grand jury, which was formed in 2021, did not have the power to charge people, but Ms Willis used the evidence it gathered to request an indictment from a regular grand jury in August.
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At Ms Willis’s request, the report remained secret for nine months as she decided what charges to bring forward.
All 19 people who were charged have pleaded not guilty, while Trump continues to deny any wrongdoing and claims he is the victim of political persecution.
He remains the favourite for the Republican presidential nomination.