A federal judge in Georgia ruled on Wednesday that the Justice Department is allowed to retain 600 boxes of election records seized from Fulton County. This decision supports ongoing investigations linked to President Donald Trump’s objections to his loss in the 2020 election.
U.S. District Judge J.P. Boulee ruled that although there were issues with the search warrants and their execution, Fulton County did not meet the strict criteria required to reclaim the seized materials, which included 2020 election ballots. The Democratic-led county argued that the materials were improperly taken based on misleading and false allegations and sought their return.
The judge, appointed by Trump, acknowledged, “The seizure in this case was certainly not perfect,” but added that Fulton County officials “did not establish that their rights were callously disregarded.”
Boulee reiterated that at this early stage of the Trump administration’s investigation, the threshold to halt a criminal investigation is extremely high. Although Fulton officials claimed the FBI affidavit used to justify the seizure was filled with disproven conspiracy theories and misleading evidence, Boulee noted that their arguments, while sometimes “troubling,” did not meet the required standard.
Democratic state Rep. Saira Draper remarked that the decision was “unfortunate but not surprising” due to the high burden of proof needed to show a blatant violation of officials’ rights. She emphasized that the DOJ’s access to the 2020 ballots complicates efforts to counter the “narrative of fraud.”
In January, the FBI executed two search warrants at a warehouse used by the Fulton County elections office, prompting strong criticism from Democrats and election experts concerned about Trump’s continued focus on the 2020 election. Republicans quickly celebrated the raid, bringing the 2020 election back into Georgia’s GOP politics as a test of MAGA loyalty.
Georgia has been central to Trump’s attempts to challenge the 2020 election results. Trump faced criminal charges from special counsel Jack Smith and local prosecutors in Georgia for pressuring Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger to “find” votes to overturn his narrow defeat in the state. These cases were dismissed after Trump won a second term.
Last month, the Justice Department requested the names of every election worker involved in Fulton County’s 2020 election, including poll workers and employees, according to court records. Election officials warned this could increase fear and distrust among voters and workers.
Trump has used his return to power to revisit the 2020 election and seek retribution against those he claims rigged the election or resisted his efforts to overturn it. A week before the FBI raid in Fulton County, Trump stated that “people will soon be prosecuted for what they did” regarding the 2020 presidential election.
In March, the Trump administration issued subpoenas for 2020 election records in Maricopa County, Arizona’s largest county.
Boulee noted that the events surrounding the Fulton County seizure were “unprecedented,” but aligned his decision with a similar case: Trump’s own criminal prosecution for allegedly keeping classified information at his Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida. Trump also attempted to reclaim materials seized by the FBI from his home, and the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals, overseeing both Florida and Georgia, ultimately supported the investigators.
Josh Gerstein contributed to this report.
