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"If he's willing to break this law, surely there's going to be others.
And once again, Alaska right now feels like a victim under this >administration. And the country is going to feel like a victim here if
they haven't already," Republican Gov. Mike Dunleavy said on "Kudlow" >Thursday.

Trump is a criminal like all his supporters.

Georgia grand jury recommended charging Lindsey Graham, other Trump allies
By Luc Cohen and Jack Queen
September 8, 202312:08 PM EDTUpdated 27 min ago
Donald Trump holds a campaign rally in Erie

Former U.S. President and Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump
reacts as he holds a campaign rally in Erie, Pennsylvania, U.S., July 29,
2023. REUTERS/Lindsay DeDario/File Photo Acquire Licensing Rights

Sept 8 (Reuters) - A Georgia grand jury recommended criminal charges
against Republican U.S. Senator Lindsey Graham 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.

The special grand jury recommended charges against Graham, a longtime
senator who represents South Carolina, as well as Georgia's two U.S.
senators at the time, Kelly Loeffler and David Perdue, the report said.
Like Trump, all are Republicans.
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Graham's office did not immediately respond to a request for comment but
said he would speak later in the day.

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.

It was unclear why Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis opted not
to bring charges against the six people, and her office did not
immediately respond to a request for comment.
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The six were among 39 people the special grand jury recommended charging
in its Dec. 15 report, which had been sealed for nine months.

The special grand jury did not have the power to issue charges, but Willis
used the evidence it gathered to seek an indictment of Trump and his 18 co-defendants from a regular grand jury last month.

Responding to the report's release on Friday, Trump said it showed
Willis's case was politically motivated. "They wanted to indict anybody
who happened to be breathing at the time," he wrote on social media. Advertisement · Scroll to continue

Trump and the other defendants in the case have pleaded not guilty. As
with his three other criminal prosecutions, Trump has denied any
wrongdoing and said he is the victim of political persecution.

Graham, a former Trump rival-turned-golf-buddy, asked Georgia officials to examine absentee ballots after the Republican president's defeat. Graham
has defended his behavior, saying he was entitled to examine state
election activity as chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee. He fought a subpoena ordering him to testify but was ultimately told to do so by the
U.S. Supreme Court.

Loeffler and Perdue, both Trump loyalists, were defeated by Democratic candidates in January 2021 runoff elections. Perdue ran unsuccessfully for governor in 2022. Neither immediately responded to a request for comment.

Flynn likewise did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
Trump's former national security adviser, a prominent figure on the far
right, urged Trump to use the military to overturn the 2020 election.

A longtime Trump political adviser, Epshteyn was involved in efforts to overturn Trump's loss and has since been advising the former president on
the legal threats he now faces. An attorney, Epshteyn declined to comment.

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.

Mitchell, another conservative lawyer who worked to reverse Trump's
defeat, did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

The special grand jury convened in 2021 at the request of 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 favor of indicting Graham, Loeffler and
Perdue, respectively. There was one abstention in each of the votes for
Graham and Loeffler. The grand jury voted 20-1 in favor of indicting 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, he remains the front-runner for the Republican presidential nomination next year against Biden, the incumbent.

The special grand jury report remained secret at 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.

Additional reporting by Andrew Goudsward, Jasper Ward, Sarah N. Lynch,
Makini Brice and Joseph Ax; Writing by Andy Sullivan; Editing by Noeleen
Walder and Howard Goller

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