Fulton County Says FBI Affidavit Misled Judge in 2020 Election‑Records Raid Sought by Kurt Olsen
Fulton County has moved in federal court to force the FBI to return more than 650 boxes of 2020 ballots and to unseal the search‑warrant affidavit, arguing the affidavit misled the magistrate by relying on a referral from Kurt Olsen and long‑debunked 2020 claims, lacked probable cause and omitted a chain‑of‑custody inventory. A federal judge has ordered the docket unsealed with limited redactions as U.S. Attorney Thomas Albus defends the warrant, while civil groups including the NAACP seek limits on use of the seized voter data amid criticism from state officials and some current and former DOJ/FBI personnel.
📌 Key Facts
- On Jan. 28 FBI agents executed a search at the Fulton County Election Hub in Union City and seized roughly 650–700 boxes of 2020 election materials — described in filings as original in‑person, absentee and provisional ballots, tabulator tapes, electronic ballot images and voter rolls — without prior notice to county officials.
- Fulton County has filed federal litigation and emergency motions (and sought return of the seized materials) asking the court to unseal the FBI search‑warrant affidavit, compel a full inventory/chain‑of‑custody accounting, and bar DOJ from using or reviewing copies while the dispute is litigated.
- U.S. District Judge J.P. Boulee ordered the federal docket and the search‑warrant affidavit unsealed (with limited redactions); Fulton County Superior Court Judge Robert McBurney dismissed or paused related state‑court cases after the federal seizure removed county possession of the ballots.
- The unsealed affidavit, authored by FBI Special Agent Hugh Evans, says the investigation originated from a referral by Kurt Olsen (identified as the Presidentially appointed Director of Election Security and Integrity) and cites alleged 2020 'deficiencies or defects' — missing ballot images, some ballots rescanned during the recount, inconsistent recount totals and chain‑of‑custody concerns — and outlines potential misdemeanor and felony offenses tied to preservation and impartiality of elections.
- Multiple outlets and election experts report that many affidavit allegations mirror long‑debunked 2020 claims and that state audits, recounts and officials had previously addressed or rejected outcome‑changing fraud claims; several current and former FBI/DOJ officials told MS NOW they viewed the affidavit as weak and insufficient to show intent to commit a crime.
- The affidavit contains no allegation or evidence of foreign interference; DNI Tulsi Gabbard was publicly reported to have been present during the search (and has said she facilitated a brief thank‑you call from President Trump to on‑scene agents), and Sen. Mark Warner said the Senate Intelligence Committee was told of 'no foreign nexus' to justify her involvement.
- The Justice Department assigned Interim U.S. Attorney Thomas Albus of the Eastern District of Missouri — an out‑of‑district appearance noted in filings — to lead the government’s response; reports say AG Pam Bondi tapped Albus to oversee election‑integrity matters under 28 U.S.C. § 515.
- Civil‑rights groups (NAACP, Georgia NAACP, Atlanta NAACP and Georgia Coalition for the Peoples Agenda) have asked the court to limit DOJ/FBI use of the seized voter‑roll data to the specific criminal probe, demand disclosure of who has accessed or copied the records, and bar use for voter‑roll maintenance, election administration or immigration enforcement.
📰 Source Timeline (20)
Follow how coverage of this story developed over time
February 17, 2026
8:16 PM
Fulton County accuses DOJ of ‘misleading narrative’ in 2020 election probe
New information:
- Fulton County has filed an amended motion accusing the FBI of presenting a "flagrantly misleading narrative" in the affidavit used to obtain the January search warrant.
- The unsealed affidavit confirms the criminal investigation 'originated from a referral sent by Kurt Olsen, Presidentially appointed Director of Election Security and Integrity,' and the county notes the affidavit omits Olsen’s history of court sanctions over unsubstantiated election claims.
- Fulton County argues the warrant lacked probable cause because it relied on long‑debunked 2020 fraud allegations and on information federal authorities acknowledged was already widely known or previously reviewed.
- The county asserts that the five‑year statute of limitations has already expired for the crimes cited in the affidavit, further undercutting the legal basis for the raid.
- County officials warn in the filing that the FBI’s unprecedented seizure of hundreds of boxes of 2020 ballots and election records could damage voter confidence and turnout in future elections.
February 16, 2026
6:23 PM
NAACP asks judge to limit how feds use Georgia voter data seized by FBI
New information:
- Fox piece restates that the NAACP’s motion asks the judge to bar DOJ/FBI from using seized voter data for voter-roll maintenance, election administration or immigration enforcement, and to limit use strictly to the criminal probe identified in the warrant.
- It emphasizes the plaintiffs’ argument that the seizure 'infringed constitutional protections of privacy, and interfered with the right to vote.'
- The article reiterates Fulton County’s earlier statement that agents were seen loading roughly 700 boxes of ballots and other materials into trucks, and notes the filing context that DOJ has been simultaneously seeking unredacted state voter-registration rolls.
4:18 PM
NAACP asks judge to protect against 'misuse' after FBI seized of voter data in Fulton County
New information:
- NAACP, Georgia NAACP, Atlanta NAACP and the Georgia Coalition for the Peoples Agenda, represented by the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law, have filed a motion asking the judge to impose 'reasonable limits' on government use of the seized Fulton County voter data.
- The motion seeks an order barring DOJ and other agencies from using the seized voter‑roll information for any purpose beyond the specific criminal investigation in the search‑warrant affidavit, explicitly including bans on using it for voter‑roll maintenance, election administration, or immigration enforcement.
- The groups ask the court to compel detailed disclosure of what was taken and who has accessed it: a full inventory of documents seized, identities of anyone outside the investigative team who has viewed the records, any copying of the data, and all steps taken to secure it.
- The motion links the Jan. 28 raid to DOJ’s separate lawsuits against at least 23 states and D.C. seeking unredacted voter‑registration rolls, arguing that the Fulton seizure 'breached' voters’ trust and constitutional privacy and interfered with the right to vote.
- The article reiterates that the underlying criminal probe was triggered by a referral from Kurt Olsen, now Trump’s 'director of election security and integrity,' and that Trump has fixated on Fulton County with unsupported claims that fraud there cost him Georgia in 2020.
February 13, 2026
7:58 PM
Concern rises within FBI that conspiracy theories spurred search of election office
New information:
- More than a dozen current and former FBI and DOJ officials tell MS NOW they see the Fulton County ballot‑seizure warrant as 'deeply concerning' and a 'new line' being crossed.
- An FBI official says the affidavit was so weak that they 'laughed out loud' after reading it, and a former senior FBI official says it failed to meet basic probable‑cause standards because it alleged no intent to commit a crime.
- The article details that the affidavit relies almost entirely on allegations already debunked by Georgia’s three recounts and on referrals from Kurt Olsen and White House staffer Clay Parikh, whom the piece portrays as prominent election deniers.
- The story underscores that the affiant, FBI Agent Hugh Evans, had only five years at the bureau and four years as a practicing attorney, and framed alleged 'deficiencies' in ballot images and tapes as criminal only if intentional—without any evidence of intent.
February 11, 2026
12:37 AM
The FBI seizure of Georgia 2020 election ballots relies on debunked claims
New information:
- The FBI warrant affidavit, unsealed Feb. 10, shows the Fulton County investigation "originated from a referral" by Kurt Olsen, Presidentially appointed Director of Election Security and Integrity who helped lead Trump’s failed 2020 overturn litigation.
- The affidavit’s five cited 'deficiencies or defects' rely on misleading and previously debunked 2020 claims, including missing ballot‑image allegations that state officials had already addressed and that state law did not require counties to retain.
- The document contains no allegation or evidence of foreign interference, despite DNI Tulsi Gabbard’s presence at the Jan. 28 raid; Gabbard has since admitted she facilitated a brief thank‑you call from Trump to the on‑scene FBI agents.
- Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger publicly blasted the probe as a waste of time and money built on 'baseless and repackaged claims,' while election‑law expert David Becker called the affidavit 'much weaker than I suspected' and characterized the alleged issues as harmless human error with no impact on results.
February 10, 2026
10:10 PM
Trump DOJ appointee Thomas Albus tapped to lead Fulton County search warrant fight
New information:
- Reveals that U.S. Attorney Thomas Albus of the Eastern District of Missouri has been installed to head the Trump DOJ’s Fulton County election probe and signed the search warrant used for the raid.
- Confirms the warrant’s scope as authorizing seizure of a broad range of 2020 election records, voting rolls and related data from the Fulton County election hub.
- Notes Fulton County’s lawsuit against the FBI demanding the return of seized ballots and that a judge has ordered DOJ to file by 5 p.m. Tuesday the arguments it used to obtain the warrant.
- Reports that Attorney General Pam Bondi has tapped Albus to oversee election‑integrity cases nationwide under 28 U.S.C. § 515, and outlines his prior background as a longtime AUSA and former Missouri deputy attorney general allied with Eric Schmitt.
9:01 PM
FBI searched Fulton County offices in probe of possible 2020 election 'defects,' affidavit says
New information:
- PBS/AP piece quotes directly from the unsealed FBI affidavit describing an investigation into 'deficiencies or defects' in Fulton County’s 2020 vote count.
- The affidavit says Fulton County admitted it does not have scanned images of all ballots from either the original count or the recount, and confirmed some ballots were scanned multiple times during the recount.
- The document lays out two possible federal violations: a misdemeanor for failing to preserve and retain election records, and a felony for 'knowingly and willfully' depriving residents of a fair and impartial election process.
- The article underscores that many of the affidavit’s allegations mirror long‑running claims from 2020 fraud proponents, and notes that audits, state officials, courts and Trump’s own former attorney general have rejected any claim of outcome‑changing fraud.
8:50 PM
FBI reviewing Fulton County vote-count ‘deficiencies,’ court docs reveal
New information:
- Fox reports that newly filed FBI search‑warrant affidavits say the bureau is investigating 'deficiencies' in Fulton County’s 2020 vote count, including missing ballot images, inconsistent recount totals and chain‑of‑custody problems.
- The affidavits, written by FBI Special Agent Hugh Evans of the Atlanta Field Office, state that agents sought the physical ballots to determine whether the irregularities were administrative errors or intentional acts.
- Evans says the investigation originated from a referral by Kurt Olsen, described as a Trump‑appointed director of election security and integrity, tying the federal probe explicitly to a Trump‑aligned official’s complaint.
7:40 PM
Court documents related to FBI search in Fulton County released
New information:
- Confirms that, pursuant to Judge J.P. Boulee’s order, the search‑warrant affidavit and broader federal docket have now been unsealed with limited redactions for nongovernmental witnesses’ names.
- Restates that FBI agents seized 'hundreds of boxes' of 2020 election materials, including ballots, tabulator tapes, ballot images and voter rolls, from Fulton County’s Election Hub on Jan. 28 without prior notice to county officials.
- Reports a separate ruling by Fulton County Superior Court Judge Robert McBurney dismissing Garland Favorito’s state‑court suit seeking public access to 2020 ballots on the ground that the county no longer has possession because of the federal seizure, and pointing petitioners toward federal courts in other districts.
- Highlights Fulton County leaders’ argument in their federal motions that the raid and continued federal control of ballots could undermine public confidence and violate constitutional protections.
4:57 PM
Court unseals more records in Fulton County suit over FBI search
New information:
- U.S. District Judge J.P. Boulee ordered the federal case over the FBI’s Fulton County ballot seizure unsealed by close of business Tuesday, including the county’s motions and related filings.
- Fulton County’s newly unsealed motion asks for the return of "all original seized materials"—more than 650 boxes of 2020 election records—and for an order barring DOJ from reviewing any copies while the dispute is litigated.
- The search warrant, signed by a magistrate judge, sought 'all physical ballots' from the 2020 election in Fulton County, plus tabulator tapes, ballot images and voter rolls, and cites two federal statutes: one on voter intimidation/fraudulent ballots and another requiring officials to retain federal election records for 22 months.
- Interim U.S. Attorney Thomas Albus from the Eastern District of Missouri is the DOJ lawyer on the warrant and has now formally appeared on the Georgia docket to lead the government’s court response, an unusual out‑of‑district assignment the article notes remains unexplained.
- The piece situates the search within DOJ’s December civil lawsuit accusing Fulton County of failing to hand over 2020 election materials and notes the county is seeking dismissal on grounds DOJ lacks a legitimate basis for the records.
12:52 AM
Georgia Judge Dismisses Case Over 2020 Election Ballots Seized by Justice Dept.
New information:
- Fulton County Superior Court Judge Robert C.I. McBurney has dismissed one of three civil cases over access to Fulton County’s 2020 election ballots and paused another in light of the FBI seizure.
- McBurney states that he had been preparing to release copies of the ballots before the federal raid, which would have let the public seek access and 'draw their own conclusions.'
- He criticizes the FBI/DOJ raid in terse orders, saying the ballots are now 'somewhere else' and expressing hope federal authorities will preserve their integrity.
- McBurney flags the unusual fact that the search warrant was signed not by Atlanta‑area federal prosecutors but by the U.S. attorney for the Eastern District of Missouri, and pointedly suggests plaintiffs may need to look there for the ballots.
February 09, 2026
2:09 PM
Federal judge orders Fulton County election raid documents to be unsealed
New information:
- Confirms the judge as U.S. District Judge J.P. Boulee, a 2019 Trump nominee.
- Clarifies that both petitioners and the government told the court they do not oppose unsealing the docket and motions, with the government seeking only to redact names of nongovernmental witnesses.
- Restates the scope of what was seized: ballots, tabulator tapes, electronic ballot images and voter rolls from the Fulton County Election Hub in Union City.
- Notes that Fulton County has already filed a motion demanding return of roughly 656 boxes of original 2020 election materials.
12:46 AM
Judge orders DOJ to unseal records on Georgia 2020 ballot raid by Tuesday
New information:
- A federal judge has ordered the Justice Department to unseal by Tuesday records related to the recent seizure of 2020 ballots and documents in Fulton County, Georgia.
- The order explicitly covers DOJ records tied to the FBI raid on the Fulton County elections hub and requires public disclosure on a tight timeline.
February 08, 2026
6:53 PM
Full transcript of "Face the Nation with Margaret Brennan," Feb. 8, 2026
New information:
- Sen. Mark Warner said on Face the Nation that the Senate Intelligence Committee has been told of 'no foreign nexus' to justify DNI Tulsi Gabbard’s involvement in the FBI’s Fulton County ballot seizure.
- Warner stated that the committee has formally asked for an explanation but has received no substantive communication from Gabbard or the administration on why the DNI was at a domestic election search.
- Warner compared the president’s alleged request that Gabbard attend the Fulton search to 'Nixonian' behavior and noted that the DNI’s statutory role is 'outward‑facing' toward foreign threats, not domestic criminal investigations.
February 05, 2026
12:33 AM
Georgia officials demand FBI return seized ballots as Trump calls for nationalizing elections
New information:
- CBS reports Georgia officials are now publicly demanding that the FBI return 2020 ballots and election records seized from Fulton County last week.
- The segment notes growing backlash to President Trump’s recent call to 'nationalizing elections,' highlighting constitutional concerns beyond the seizure itself.
- Adds on‑camera confirmation that the FBI seizure and Trump’s remarks are being linked politically and legally in Georgia’s response.
February 04, 2026
11:35 PM
Details on Fulton County motion for FBI to return all 2020 ballots seized in raid
New information:
- CBS confirms Fulton County officials have formally asked a federal court to order the FBI to return all 2020 ballots and documents seized in last week’s raid.
- Legal analyst Rebecca Roiphe provides on‑air context about what the motion means procedurally and what standards the judge is likely to apply in deciding whether the FBI must return the materials.
- The segment emphasizes that original ballots and election records are at the center of the dispute, underscoring how unusual it is for federal agents to retain physical ballots.
10:54 PM
Fulton County files motion over FBI raid, seizure of 2020 election materials
New information:
- Confirms Fulton County filed its motion on Wednesday seeking return of seized 2020 election ballots.
- Highlights that the motion also asks the court to unseal the FBI search‑warrant affidavit.
- Provides on‑camera attribution via CBS legal reporter Katrina Kaufman that the filing has been made, not just contemplated.
February 03, 2026
1:11 PM
Fulton County, Georgia to sue after FBI seizes 2020 election records
New information:
- Commissioner Marvin S. Arrington Jr. publicly announced the county will move in the Northern District of Georgia to challenge the legality of the FBI warrant and seek the return of seized ballots.
- Arrington says the FBI took 'all the original ballots' and copies of voter rolls and that no chain‑of‑custody inventory was created at seizure, leaving the county unable to verify what, if anything, is returned.
- The article confirms the search warrant itself authorized seizure of records, voting rolls and other data tied specifically to the 2020 election, and that the search targeted the Fulton County Election Hub opened in 2023.
- It notes Trump recently confirmed DNI Tulsi Gabbard was physically present during the FBI search, invoking election‑security concerns, and that FBI Director Kash Patel is publicly defending the search as based on an 'extensive' investigation.
- The piece ties the search to an ongoing December 2025 DOJ civil lawsuit seeking access to 2020 ballots that Fulton County is already fighting in court.
February 02, 2026
6:10 PM
Fulton County is suing FBI over new 2020 election probe in Georgia
New information:
- Confirms Fulton County is filing a federal lawsuit on Monday challenging the FBI’s seizure of 2020 election records.
- States agents removed about 700 boxes of ballots and voter data from the Fulton County Elections Hub in Union City.
- Details that Commissioner Marvin Arrington Jr. wants a 'forensic accounting,' for the records to remain under seal in Georgia, and is contesting the lack of a chain‑of‑custody inventory.
- Quotes Arrington saying the FBI was authorized to copy records under a separate order but instead took original in‑person, absentee and provisional ballots and voter rolls.
- County Chairman Robb Pitts vows Fulton County will 'not give one inch' and will fight the warrant 'with every resource that we have.'