The whole report from the Fulton County grand jury might still be bad news for Republican Senator Lindsey Graham of South Carolina since it could “serve as a basis for federal charges,” according to former U.S. Barbara McQuade, an attorney, who spoke to Newsweek on Saturday.
Over two years after the investigation began to determine whether former President Donald Trump and his friends allegedly tampered with Georgia’s election results, the report was finally made public on Friday.
On January 9, their report was completed after a thorough inquiry conducted by Willis.
Trump and 18 other people were charged with 41 charges in total last month, including one count each for violating the Georgia Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations (RICO) Act, which makes it illegal to engage in “patterns of racketeering activity” or to conspire to do so.
They have all entered a not-guilty plea.
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Prominent Figures Under Fire
The nine-page report not only suggested charges against Graham, a fervent Trump supporter, but also against the current lieutenant governor of Georgia, Burt Jones, the former U.S. senators from Georgia, David Perdue and Kelly Loeffler, Michael Flynn, and Lin Wood.
The grand jury decided to indict Graham, Loeffler, and Perdue by votes of 13-7, 14-6, and 17-4, respectively. There was one abstention in each of the votes for Graham and Loeffler. Apart from the alternate slate of electors, Graham had the most “no” votes among those who were advised to be charged.
Meanwhile, some legal experts who previously spoke to Newsweek believed that Graham was not charged by Willis because of his political stature, legal constraints, and probable trial testimony.
On Saturday, Katie Phang of MSNBC asked McQuade if Graham may be called as a witness in the RICO trials of Trump attorneys Kenneth Chesebro and Sidney Powell.
His Fifth Amendment privilege against self-incrimination may be invoked, McQuade suggested. It’s possible that his attorney may ask for immunity so that he can testify, because the fact that this special grand jury recommended that he be prosecuted does suggest that he has some criminal liability here.
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Source: News week
