Grand jury said Graham, Perdue, Loefler should have been indicted in election tampering case

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FULTON COUNTY, Ga. — A Fulton County judge has released the full report from the special purpose grand jury investigation that led to the indictment of former President Donald Trump and 18 others, accusing them of conspiring to overturn the 2020 election in Georgia.

The report was released after Fulton County Superior Court Judge Robert McBurney ruled last week that he would allow the release of the full report as long as no objections were filed.

According to the final report, 26 Fulton County residents heard evidence from 75 witnesses over the course of eight months.

The grand jurors investigated everything from the now-infamous phone call from Trump to Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger to the false allegations of voter fraud made by former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani in a state Senate subcommittee to the meeting of false electors inside the state capitol.

According to the report, the special grand jury found “by unanimous vote that no widespread fraud took place in the Georgia 2020 presidential election that could result in overturning that election.”

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On top of the 19 people who have already been indicted in the case, the special grand jury also recommended that 20 other people be indicted, including U.S. Sen. Lindsey Graham, former U.S. Sen. David Perdue, now-Lt. Gov. Burt Jones, former U.S. Sen. Kelly Loefler, former National Security Adviser Michael Flynn, Trump adviser Boris Epshteyn, as well as two different slates of fake electors.

“The grand jury believes that perjury may have been committed by one or more witnesses testifying before it. The grand jury recommends that the District Attorney seek appropriate indictments for such crimes where the evidence is compelling,” the report said.

Special grand jurors also recommended indictments for former state Sen. William Ligon whose committee wrote a report demanding a special session to overturn the election, and now-retired Georgia attorney Lin Wood, who appeared on stage in 2020 alongside the now-indicted Sidney Powell and Ray Smith pushing debunked conspiracy theories of massive voter fraud.

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As for Graham’s involvement in the case, Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis wrote in past court filings that she believed Graham tried to pressure Georgia election officials to find votes and spread election fraud disinformation.

Graham sent us a statement Friday, saying:

“As the then-Chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, I had to decide whether to hold a hearing regarding the allegations of election misconduct in Georgia and other locations, as well as whether to certify the election results.

“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.

“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.”

Now-Lt. Governor Burt Jones was also listed in the grand jury report as one of those people jurors said should have been indicted. Jones served as one of the fake electors in December 2020. At the time he was still a state Senator.

Sources confirm to Channel 2′s Richard Elliot that unindicted co-conspirator No. 8 named in the 98-page Georgia election interference indictment is in fact, Jones.

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Because of her ties to Jones’ Democratic opponent in the election, a judge barred Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis from prosecuting him, therefore he was not indicted.

Soon after that indictment was handed up, the Prosecuting Attorneys Council confirmed that they were going to name a special prosecutor to investigate Jones’ involvement. The agency had filed motions as well to have the special grand jury report released.

In a statement from Pete Skandalakis, executive director of the Prosecuting Attorneys Council, he said in part:

“The Prosecuting Attorneys’ Council of Georgia is aware that the Special Purpose Grand Jury’s Final Report has been released to the public. PAC has obtained a copy of the report and will review it thoroughly.

“A special prosecutor has not been appointed to the case as of today and we do not expect an appointment to be made immediately. PAC will diligently continue its efforts to seek a special prosecutor to handle this matter.”

Former U.S. Sen. Kelly Loefler, who was also named in the special grand jury report, sent a statement, saying:

“Trying to jail your party’s leading political opponent ahead of 2024 is election interference. Speaking out in defense of election integrity is not. I make no apologies for serving my state by giving voice to millions of Americans who felt disenfranchised in 2020, and I refuse to be intimidated by a two-tiered system of justice that seeks to systematically destroy conservatives across this country.”

It remains unclear why the 20 additional people listed in the special report were not indicted.

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