It’s been nearly a month since Donald Trump and many of his allies and associates were indicted in Fulton County, Georgia, as part of an investigation into efforts to overturn the 2020 presidential election results. For many Republicans, it seemed as if District Attorney Fani Willis and the local grand jury took an exceedingly ambitious approach, charging 19 people, including a former president.

But it now appears prosecutors showed some restraint. NBC News reported:

A Georgia-based special grand jury that initially investigated efforts by former President Donald Trump and his allies to overturn the 2020 presidential election recommended the indictments of more than three dozen people, including 21 who weren’t charged last month. A report summarizing that special purpose grand jury’s investigation was released Friday after Judge Robert McBurney, who presided over the panel, ordered last week that it be made public.

In February, Trump used his social media platform to celebrate members of the local special grand jury. “Thank you to the Special Grand Jury in the Great State of Georgia for your Patriotism & Courage,” the Republican wrote, adding, “The USA is very proud of you!!!”

It’s a line that’s taken on new meaning today.

Among the many who weren’t charged, despite the recommendations of the special grand jury, were Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham of South Carolina and two of his former colleagues: former GOP Sens. David Perdue and Kelly Loeffler of Georgia.

Why weren’t they indicted, too? My MSNBC colleague Jordan Rubin explained that this is a good question for which there is not yet a good answer.

Did any of these un-indicted people cooperate at all with the authorities to help themselves? Are they all still out of the woods in terms of criminal exposure, whether they’ve cooperated or not? Did Willis simply disagree with the special grand jurors that there’s a viable case against some or all of these people? Time may tell, though we shouldn’t bank on additions to Willis’ already sprawling racketeering case.

As the dust settles, there’s a lot of details to be aware of, but it’s the Graham angle that I’m especially interested in.

For those who might benefit from a refresher, let’s circle back to our earlier coverage and review how we arrived at this point.

It was last summer when the special grand jury issued subpoenas to several people close to Trump, including the GOP senator.

Graham’s perspective was of great interest for a reason. About a week after the 2020 presidential race was called, Brad Raffensperger, Georgia’s Republican secretary of state, accused the senator of contacting him directly to question the validity of legally cast ballots. Graham soon after conceded that the two men spoke, but he called the underlying allegation “ridiculous.”

But Raffensperger held firm, telling CNN in November 2020 that the “implication” of Graham’s message was, “Look hard and see how many ballots you could throw out.”

With this in mind, it was hardly a shock when the Fulton County District Attorney’s office said it wanted to hear Graham’s side of the story. The senator had a problem with that, and he fought tooth and nail to avoid testifying in the case. Those efforts failed, and multiple courts told him he had to comply with the subpoena.

Graham eventually testified and answered questions. Soon after, the special grand jury recommended that he face criminal charges.

For reasons we don’t know, Willis declined to indict him, and since the news broke, the Republican senator has not responded to the latest revelations. Watch this space.

Update: Graham spoke to reporters this afternoon, saying, among other things, that when he reached out to Raffensperger, he was fulfilling his constitutional duties.

To the extent that reality still has meaning, there’s nothing in the Constitution that requires a South Carolina senator to speak to a Georgia secretary of state about ballot-counts after an election.

This post updates our related earlier coverage.