Federal judge rules in FBI's favor in dispute with Fulton County over 2020 ballots

A federal judge in Georgia rejected a request by Fulton County for the return of 2020 presidential election ballots and other election materials that were seized by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI).

In January of this year, the agency led by Kash Patel executed a warrant at an election office in Fulton County, Georgia, as part of an investigation into alleged voter fraud in the 2020 election. Mo Ivory, county commissioner, stated at the time that he had received a court order to confiscate the material, so they turned over 700 boxes with documentation.

Subsequently, the county filed a lawsuit to recover the documents. The case is in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Georgia and handled by Judge Jean-Paul Boulee. Before the court, the lawyers argued that the FBI's action appears to be a "pretext to acquire records that this Administration was unable to quickly secure via the civil litigation process."

However, Judge Boulee, nominated by President Donald Trump in 2019, ruled against Fulton County. The magistrate wrote that the county had failed to meet the high legal requirements that would allow him to intervene, though he noted that "the events that have given rise to this case are, in many ways, unprecedented."

"While the Affidavit was certainly far from perfect, this is not a situation where an officer left out all the facts that might undermine probable cause or where an officer intentionally lied," Judge Boulee wrote in his ruling.

"The Court cannot say that the Affidavit was so deficient that its shortcomings rise to the 'high threshold' of callous disregard," he added.

On the seized material, Reuters reported that the Department of Justice (DOJ) is conducting an investigation into "whether election records were not properly retained or whether residents in Fulton County, ⁠which includes most of Atlanta, were defrauded out of a fair election."