FBI’s Georgia Election Seizure Based on Recycled Fraud Claims

Federal investigators relied on years-old allegations of election fraud in Fulton County, Georgia—many previously investigated and dismissed—to obtain a search warrant for seizing 2020 election ballots, according to an unsealed affidavit released Tuesday.

The document reveals that the investigation originated from a referral by Kurt Olsen, a former Trump adviser who assisted in the unsuccessful legal challenges to the 2020 election results. Olsen now serves as an administration official overseeing efforts to investigate Trump’s election loss.

The FBI search, conducted on January 28, targeted Fulton County—a Democratic stronghold that Trump and his allies have long claimed was central to alleged election fraud. Agents spent hours at the county elections facility south of Atlanta before departing with trucks loaded with hundreds of cartons containing ballots, tabulator tapes, electronic ballot images, and voter rolls from the 2020 election.

The operation immediately raised concerns among Democrats about potential political retribution, particularly given the unusual presence of Tulsi Gabbard, the country’s director of national intelligence. Notably, despite persistent conspiracy theories among some Trump supporters, the affidavit makes no mention of foreign election interference.

“These accusations have already been debunked, but here we go again on a merry-go-round,” said Fulton County Chairman Robb Pitts, who characterized the allegations as “recycled rumors, lies, untruths and unproven conspiracy theories.” Pitts vowed the county would “fight this with every resource that’s at our disposal.”

President Joe Biden won Georgia by approximately 11,800 votes in 2020—an outcome certified by the state’s Republican governor and overseen by its Republican secretary of state.

The FBI affidavit cites possible “deficiencies or defects” in Fulton County’s vote count, including the county’s admission that it lacks scanned images of all ballots from the original count and recount. It also notes that some ballots were scanned multiple times during the recount process.

“If these deficiencies were the result of intentional action, it would be a violation of federal law regardless of whether the failure to retain records or the deprivation of a fair tabulation of a vote was outcome determinative for any particular election or race,” the document states.

However, the affidavit itself acknowledges uncertainty about whether these potential defects constitute criminal activity, particularly given that Fulton County’s election processes have already undergone multiple reviews.

Previous investigations by the Georgia Secretary of State’s office, an independent monitor, and a state elections board performance review all documented administrative problems but found no evidence of fraud or illegality that would have changed the election outcome.

After a problematic primary election in 2020, an independent monitor observed Fulton County’s general election procedures and reported “sloppy processes” and “systemic disorganization” but no evidence of fraud. A subsequent performance review initiated by Republican state lawmakers in 2021 found “disorganization and a lack of a sense of urgency in resolving issues” but also noted significant improvements in the county’s election administration.

The affidavit cites the review board’s conclusion that “we do not see any evidence of fraud, intentional misconduct, or large systematic issues that would have affected the result of the November 2020 election.”

Among the recycled allegations is a claim that 17,852 “duplicate” ballot images were inserted into Fulton County’s files. However, the affidavit itself undermines this theory, noting that one witness observed these potentially duplicate images were actually more pro-Trump than the confirmed county votes—suggesting any duplication was more likely an attempt to reconcile count discrepancies than to affect the outcome. Georgia Secretary of State investigators had previously reached a similar conclusion, determining the error was “not intentional misconduct.”

Another allegation involves supposedly “pristine” absentee ballots that weren’t folded as they would have been if mailed in envelopes. The affidavit notes that a former secretary of state’s official explained to the FBI that unfolded absentee ballots are normal in every election, as they’re generated when vote review panels examine damaged ballots. State investigators examined this claim in 2021 and found no supporting evidence.

Fulton County has filed a motion seeking the return of the seized materials, arguing in court that “claims that the 2020 election results were fraudulent or otherwise invalid have been exhaustively reviewed and, without exception, refuted.”

The legal battle over the seized election materials continues as the county pushes back against what it characterizes as a politically motivated investigation based on debunked theories.