A federal judge heard arguments Friday in a closely watched dispute between Georgia’s Fulton County and the Trump administration over whether the FBI must return thousands of 2020 election ballots seized during a January search warrant execution, as both sides sharply clashed over the scope of an ongoing federal investigation.
The hearing before U.S. District Judge J.P. Boulee, an appointee of President Donald Trump, came after court-ordered mediation failed and followed a procedural win for the administration a day earlier, when the judge blocked Fulton County’s attempt to compel testimony from the FBI agent who justified the search warrant in a written affidavit.
Representing Fulton County, Washington-based attorney Abbe Lowell argued the Jan. 28 seizure of election materials from the county’s election warehouse was “unusual,” noting it targeted an election that has already been extensively reviewed in the years since President Donald Trump lost Georgia to former President Joe Biden.
Lowell suggested the Justice Department acted out of frustration with parallel civil litigation it had filed to obtain the same materials. Prior to the raid, the Georgia Board of Elections had been engaged in a heated legal battle with the county to obtain 2020 election records.
“There’s abundant law that the left hand of the department needs to know what the right hand is doing,” Lowell told the court, according to the Associated Press.
DOJ attorney Michael Weisbuch rejected that argument during courtroom arguments on Friday, saying the separate litigation was “not relevant in any respect” and emphasizing that federal investigators still require the original materials to pursue their inquiry. He noted the government has already provided Fulton County with digital copies of everything seized.
The dispute centers on the FBI’s seizure of more than 650 boxes of election-related materials from a warehouse near Atlanta, part of a broader DOJ investigation into alleged irregularities in Fulton County’s handling of the 2020 vote.
In sworn affidavits, federal officials have pointed to concerns about whether ballot images were properly retained, whether some ballots were scanned multiple times, and whether certain absentee ballots may have been improperly counted. The inquiry was initiated following a referral led by attorney Kurt Olsen, who now serves as Trump’s director of election security and integrity, and the affidavit relied on claims about the conduct of the election by 11 witnesses.
Fulton County officials have forcefully pushed back, arguing the issues cited reflect routine administrative errors rather than evidence of fraud. In court filings, the county accused the federal government of showing “callous disregard” for Fourth Amendment protections and attempting to set a precedent for federal interference in local election administration.
To support its claims, the county submitted a sworn declaration from election technology expert Ryan Macias, who said the FBI affidavit used to obtain the warrant contains “a multitude of false or misleading statements and omissions.”
DOJ lawyers disputed that characterization, writing that “the supposed misrepresentations and omissions flagged by Petitioners are illusory and/or immaterial,” and emphasizing that a federal magistrate judge reviewed and approved the warrant.
In a March 20 court filing, the DOJ further argued that Fulton County’s legal challenge is fundamentally flawed and does not justify forcing federal agents to testify or returning the seized materials.
Federal attorneys said the county cannot show it has a valid possessory interest in the records or that any irreparable harm will result, noting that the clerk of court previously sought permission to destroy some of the materials.
They also warned that compelling testimony from FBI Special Agent Hugh Evans, who signed the affidavit for the search warrant, would expose sensitive details about an active criminal investigation and risk setting a dangerous precedent.
Allowing such requests, the government argued, would give litigants a “roadmap” to “improperly disrupt and peek into ongoing criminal investigations.”
The broader legal fight comes amid heightened scrutiny of the Trump administration’s efforts to revisit aspects of the 2020 election. The FBI has also issued subpoenas for election-related records in other battleground states, including Arizona, while the Justice Department is pursuing voter data from multiple states in ongoing litigation.
Democrats and some election officials have raised concerns that the federal government is using law enforcement powers to relitigate the 2020 election and potentially influence future contests.
JUDGE BLOCKS FULTON COUNTY BID TO FORCE FBI TESTIMONY OVER SEIZED ELECTION RECORDS
Fulton County, which includes most of Atlanta and is heavily Democratic, has been a focal point of Trump’s claims of election fraud. However, Georgia’s results were counted three times, including a full hand recount, each time confirming Biden’s victory.
Boulee has not yet ruled on whether the federal government must return the physical ballots, leaving the central dispute unresolved as the DOJ’s investigation continues.
