ATLANTA (AP) — The FBI has obtained a search warrant to seize hundreds of boxes of ballots from election offices in Fulton County, Georgia, part of an investigation into supposed deficiencies or defects in the vote count from the 2020 election that President Donald Trump lost, as detailed in an affidavit made public Tuesday.
The affidavit sheds light on the FBI's search last month targeting a heavily Democratic county that Trump and his supporters have long considered pivotal to their unfounded assertions regarding a stolen election. The investigation arose from a referral made by a Trump campaign lawyer, and hinges on claims of widespread electoral fraud—claims that have been repeatedly debunked by audits, state officials, courts, and former Attorney General Bill Barr.
The investigation's origins trace back to a referral from Kurt Olsen, Trump's 2020 campaign attorney, who now oversees the efforts to investigate Trump’s loss.
Democratic officials have raised immediate alarms, suggesting that Trump is leveraging the FBI and Justice Department for retribution against perceived electoral injustices. However, the affidavit does not mention any evidence of foreign intervention in the 2020 election. This omission stands in contrast to persisting conspiracy theories among Trump's followers regarding foreign meddling in the electoral process.
Joe Biden secured the state of Georgia by a slim margin of around 11,800 votes, with oversight from a Republican secretary of state and certified by a Republican governor.
Investigators are focusing on Fulton County’s admissions of not retaining scanned images of all ballots cast during the original count and recount. Furthermore, Fulton County acknowledged that some ballots were scanned multiple times during the recounting process.
The affidavit underscores that if any deficiencies were intentionally orchestrated, it would constitute a violation of federal law, regardless of the impact on the overall election outcome. The document highlights legal provisions regarding the preservation of election records and consequences for depriving voters of a fair election process.
While the affidavit confirms the necessity of seizing election records to uncover possible destruction or falsification of ballots, it also raises uncertainties regarding whether these alleged defects constitute a crime, especially considering that previous reviews of Fulton County’s electoral processes have already occurred.
In 2020, after a challenging primary election, an independent observer was instituted to oversee the general election as part of a compromise with the State Election Board, documenting issues of disorganization but finding no indications of illegal activities.
Subsequent investigations, including those from the secretary of state's office and a performance review urged by the Republican-controlled legislature, reaffirmed the absence of evidence suggesting fraud or systemic issues that could have affected the election's outcome.
On January 28, FBI agents spent several hours at the county's elections hub, leaving with numerous cartons of election materials. Following the seizure, Fulton County officials filed a motion to return the confiscated items, asserting that the results of the 2020 election have been scrupulously scrutinized and disproven.
Numerous lawsuits and both state and federal inquiries have continuously found no valid evidence of electoral fraud, casting further doubt on the legitimacy of the ongoing investigation.
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Associated Press writer Nicholas Riccardi contributed to this report.
