ATLANTA (AP) — The FBI obtained a search warrant to seize hundreds of boxes of ballots from election offices in Fulton County, Georgia, as part of a criminal investigation into possible 'deficiencies or defects' in the vote count in the 2020 contest lost by President Donald Trump, according to an affidavit unsealed Tuesday.
The affidavit provides the first public justification for an FBI search last month that targeted a county that Trump and allies have long seen as central to their false claim that the 2020 election was stolen. The investigation, based on a referral from a Trump administration official, rests on claims that have long been made by people who assert widespread fraud in the contest even though audits, state officials, courts, and Trump’s own former attorney general have all rejected the idea of widespread problems that could have altered the outcome.
The investigation began with a referral from Kurt Olsen, who served as Trump’s 2020 campaign lawyer when it lost dozens of lawsuits challenging the election and now serves as an administration official overseeing the attempt to investigate Trump’s loss, according to the affidavit.
The search of the heavily Democratic county stirred immediate concerns among Democrats that Trump was marshaling the powers of the FBI and Justice Department to pursue retribution over his persistent claims of a stolen election and because of the unusual presence of Tulsi Gabbard, the country’s director of national intelligence. The affidavit makes no mention of any evidence of foreign interference in the 2020 election even though the possibility of such meddling has been a longstanding conspiracy theory among Trump supporters who question the 2020 vote count.
Democrat Joe Biden won Georgia by about 11,800 votes in an election overseen by a Republican secretary of state and certified by a Republican governor. Among the 'deficiencies or defects' investigators are looking at is Fulton County’s admission that it does not have scanned images of all the ballots counted during the original count or the recount, according to the affidavit. Fulton County has also confirmed that some ballots were scanned multiple times during the recount, the affidavit says.
The affidavit expresses uncertainty about whether the potential defects constitute a crime, noting that elections in Fulton County have already been the subject of multiple reviews. Despite claims of large systematic issues, previous reviews found no evidence of fraud, intentional misconduct, or significant problems affecting the election results. Nonetheless, the FBI's actions have reignited political tensions and raised concerns over the electoral process.
The affidavit provides the first public justification for an FBI search last month that targeted a county that Trump and allies have long seen as central to their false claim that the 2020 election was stolen. The investigation, based on a referral from a Trump administration official, rests on claims that have long been made by people who assert widespread fraud in the contest even though audits, state officials, courts, and Trump’s own former attorney general have all rejected the idea of widespread problems that could have altered the outcome.
The investigation began with a referral from Kurt Olsen, who served as Trump’s 2020 campaign lawyer when it lost dozens of lawsuits challenging the election and now serves as an administration official overseeing the attempt to investigate Trump’s loss, according to the affidavit.
The search of the heavily Democratic county stirred immediate concerns among Democrats that Trump was marshaling the powers of the FBI and Justice Department to pursue retribution over his persistent claims of a stolen election and because of the unusual presence of Tulsi Gabbard, the country’s director of national intelligence. The affidavit makes no mention of any evidence of foreign interference in the 2020 election even though the possibility of such meddling has been a longstanding conspiracy theory among Trump supporters who question the 2020 vote count.
Democrat Joe Biden won Georgia by about 11,800 votes in an election overseen by a Republican secretary of state and certified by a Republican governor. Among the 'deficiencies or defects' investigators are looking at is Fulton County’s admission that it does not have scanned images of all the ballots counted during the original count or the recount, according to the affidavit. Fulton County has also confirmed that some ballots were scanned multiple times during the recount, the affidavit says.
The affidavit expresses uncertainty about whether the potential defects constitute a crime, noting that elections in Fulton County have already been the subject of multiple reviews. Despite claims of large systematic issues, previous reviews found no evidence of fraud, intentional misconduct, or significant problems affecting the election results. Nonetheless, the FBI's actions have reignited political tensions and raised concerns over the electoral process.
