The grand jury continued its investigation, issuing five more indictments after Fletcher issued his blanket pardon. Two were returned against members of Fletcher's staff, and two were against unpaid advisors to Fletcher. The fifth was issued against Acting Secretary Nighbert for retaliation against a whistleblower. Only the additional charge against Nighbert was alleged to have occurred after Fletcher issued the pardon. On October 24, 2005, Fletcher filed a motion asking Franklin Circuit Court Judge William Graham to order the grand jury to stop issuing indictments for offenses that occurred prior to the blanket pardon; only the names of indicted officials could be included in the jury's final report. On November 16, Graham ruled that the grand jury could continue issuing indictments, but in a separate ruling, dismissed the indictments against Fletcher's staff and volunteer advisors on grounds that they were covered by the pardon. Graham did not rule on the latest indictment against Nighbert. The Kentucky Court of Appeals affirmed Graham's ruling on December 16. Immediately after the Court of Appeals' ruling, Fletcher announced his intent to appeal the ruling to the Kentucky Supreme Court.