FBI executes search warrant at election office in Fulton county, Georgia

[erronis]

Source: The Guardian

Purpose and scope of warrant not immediately clear as officials scramble to understand nature and target of search

The FBI executed a search warrant at the Fulton county, Georgia, election office on Wednesday, a spokesperson for the FBI's Atlanta's field office said.

The purpose and scope of the warrant were not immediately clear. "Our investigation into this matter is ongoing so there are no details that I can provide at the moment," the spokesperson said.

Fulton county officials are scrambling to understand the nature and target of the search, according to Regina Waller, a spokesperson for Fulton county. The location in south Fulton is roughly half an hour south of Atlanta.

Read more: https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/jan/28/fbi-search-warrant-fulton-county-georgia

[durablend]

1. Still looking for those missing votes? /sarcasm

[graycampervan]

29. Missing votes

After Smith's testimony stating that trump KNEW he lost he has to make it look like in fact he really did think he won otherwise why would he still be pursuing the "truth".

[bluestarone]

2. FUCKERS!!!

EVERY state better be ready!

[SergeStorms]

5. The war is well under way.

Their strategy: fight the war on as many fronts as possible. With the entire federal government at his disposal Dementia Donny (actually, every far-right fascist talking in his ear) it will be one helluva war.

[bluestarone]

9. We need GUARDS at every state

Election center. 2026 is gonna be horrible!! Remember his words vote for me now and you'll never have to vote again.

[Irish_Dem]

3. Out of Minneapolis yesterday, but invades Atlanta today.

[SergeStorms]

7. They haven't left Minnesota.

They're still there, trampling on the rights of Minnesotans at will.

[twodogsbarking]

4. Federal Bureau of Intimidation.

Has he taken over the CIA too?

[SergeStorms]

8. Bingo.

nt.

[peppertree]

23. Madam J. Edgar Hoover would be proud

Hoover always envisioned the FBI as, in effect, an ideological police not unlike the Gestapo - one only at the service of John Birch-style Republicans, of course.

(certainly not at the service of the American people - whom he bilked of millions to feed his gambling habit, and other 'expenses')

And Kashyap is all in on the Hoover plan - his personal disdain for Hoover notwithstanding.

[Deuxcents]

6. TSF wants voter rolls and will invent any way to get them..without explanation

[Raven123]

10. Hope the warrant becomes public. Who authorized it and why?

[bluestarone]

11. What judge signed off on this?

You know Marc Elias and many more lawyers are really really smart BUT law mean NOTHING to these fuckers. We are gonna have to be ready folks.

[ScratchCat]

12. This makes no sense

Purpose and scope of warrant not immediately clear as officials scramble to understand nature and target of search

Um, the warrant would have to say what they are after, so it makes no sense for any "official" to claim they don't know the scope of the warrant. The feds have very limited scope and a warrant would have to spell out what State records they are looking for.

[Lanius]

13. How far will these various federal agencies go before someone has a backbone and says "no"?

Aside from the authoritarians who believe in Trump and what he's doing, some of these folks are obeying his orders to keep their jobs.

[D. Spaulding]

14. The MAGA acolytes are like children who need constant

attention and distractions. They invest so much of their identities and emotional validation into his brand of far right partisan politics, that the administration feels compelled to carry out these made up, pandering productions. They remind me of restless and overstimulated children with wandering attention spans.

[RANDYWILDMAN]

15. This thread should be blowing up

This is huge, this is him already trying to steal the 2026 elections, tell me I'm wrong

[orangecrush]

26. You are correct.

[sinkingfeeling]

16. They're really going to try and prosecute those who were involved in 'rigging' the 2020 election.

https://www.politico.com/news/2026/01/21/trump-2020-election-prosecutions-00738778

President Donald Trump on Wednesday said individuals will soon be prosecuted for their role in what he called the “rigged 2020 election,” continuing his fixation on an election he lost.

[NJCher]

38. Good call

More phony baloney “prosecutions.”

Made up crap that the courts will toss in a heartbeat.

It will just give the Donvict more stuff to lie about.

[bluestarone]

17. For one thing, i'm NOT worried at all if they find anything. MY concern is

How will the change everything to make it look like they found something!

[Bengus81]

21. Yep...like those 11,000+ votes so Trump did win Georgia

Just watch people...........

[bluestarone]

22. Yes, maybe conviently add 11,000

PLUS votes? I agree!

[Jack Valentino]

33. ..... but that STILL would not change the results of the election! so his fixation on that one state

makes no sense.... but of course, Trump rarely does make sense.

[hamsterjill]

30. Bingo!

My concern as well.

[FloridaBlues]

18. Take the voting machines ?

[Buddyzbuddy]

19. I think we have an idea of what the purpose is.

[aggiesal]

20. What Federal Law did the State of Georgia commit? ...

This looks like some sort of retribution.

[Callie1979]

40. Their Republican Gov & SoS said "NO" to Trump.

You know what happens to people who say "no" to Putin, Xi & Un.
He tried to primary them both out of office in '22 & BOTH won huge victories in a state full of MAGAtards
He's STILL pissed about all of the
Its not about what the Cult thins it is; "overturning all the Biden decisions!!!"
It's simply that HE cannot bear being a LOSER. So he needs to prove it was stolen so he can say "I've never lost"

[aggiesal]

43. I get that. But they had to have some evidence of a federal crime for the FBI to get involved ...

plus to get a federal judge to sign off on those charges.

What specific crime was committed that they are charged with?

[Callie1979]

44. Latest I heard was they took all the 2020 ballots.

I dont know why they still HAD them. The law says that aster 22 months ballots are to be destroyed.

[aggiesal]

45. In a different case, a court ordered them to seal the 2020 ballots ....

So in theory, they are not supposed to open them until the other case says they can unseal them.

[AverageOldGuy]

24. Where are the ballots?

We are talking here about the 2020 election, which Trump swears that he won. He's looking for more votes.

Federal law requires that ballots, tally tapes from voting machines, and the like be retained 22 months after the election after which they can be destroyed. 22 months from November 2020 is September 2022.

I served 12 years on the electoral board in a rural Virginia county. We were required by law to have all ballots, machine tapes, etc., at the office of the Circuit Court Clerk not later than noon the day after the election. At the precincts, after the polls closed, the Officers of Election removed all paper ballots from the voting machines, placed them in boxes, then sealed the boxes and affixed paper seals all over the boxes -- seals were signed by the Officers of Election. All these sealed boxes were listed on an inventory -- e.g. "Nov 2020 Federal Election; XXXX County, 3rd Precinct, Box 1 of 3, 763 ballots" -- the clerk's office people counted the boxes against the inventory, took the sealed boxes into their vault, and locked the vault. Requires a court order from a judge to remove or open a box.

22 months later -- Sep 2022 -- the Clerk would turn the boxes over to a shredding service that came in big trucks with truck-mounted shredders. Clerk would witness the shredding of the ballots and certify to destroying the ballots on an inventory form. And the ballots were gone -- shredded material taken to an incinerator, burned, and witnessed, forms signed.

I have no idea WTF Kash Patel and Pa Bondi think they are going to find. The goddam 2020 ballots were shredded and incinerated years ago -- sounds like a Joe Biden conspiracy to me.

[hay rick]

32. I expect this isn't about their 2020 lies, it's about preparing for 2026 and 2028 lies.

[Callie1979]

41. I may be wrong, but I think they were ordered to keep them.

Any search NOW only comes up with this raid yesterday. But I'm in GA & I seem to remember that from some time ago. Maybe it's been LONG ago & they DID destroy them.

[aggiesal]

46. Read m response 45 above.n/t

[orangecrush]

25. Starting early

With the election tampering.

[vapor2]

27. The loser just can't accept losing

[Deuxcents]

28. The courts found no evidence of wrongdoing in the 2020 election, what, 60 some times?

He would have been in court for election interference if the state attorney had been able to proceed and so now, more taxpayers money going for another round in Georgia to find fraud as he’s so sure he won that state but even if he does find more votes, he still lost the election. He LOST but he can’t get the loss out of his mind and Pam Bondi goes along..hoping to keep her job, I’m sure

[CrispyQ]

31. I'm so sick of it all. The chaos, the drama, the orange piece of shit. -nt

[Jacson6]

34. This is a dead end. The Trumpsters will find nothing.

[V850i]

35. Voter Rolls and Build up to the mid-terms?

They likely know there is nothing there. However it may be a good ploy to get voter rolls as part of discovery... and a preview of the FBI involvement in the mid-terms?

[Cirsium]

36. This can't be right

How many times have we been scolded for suggesting Trump would interfere with the elections?

"The states control the elections. Trump can't do anything to stop them."

[Rhiannon12866]

37. At this late date there is nothing to find, if he did is he planning to time travel?

And this would mean that he was not eligible to run in 2024. And that's fine with me, here's to disqualifying the felon-in-chief and get ready to redo the 2024 election with another Republican candidate!

[NJCher]

39. You make too much sense

[erronis]

42. Stirring the pot, boil and bubble...

[LetMyPeopleVote]

47. Trump lawyers agree to unseal evidence presented for Georgia election raid

This case is over five years old. I have trouble believing that there was actual evidence necessary to support this type of search warrant. The affidavit and evidence used to get this search warrant will be released.

Trump lawyers agree to unseal evidence presented for Georgia election raid
www.rawstory.com/trump-267517...

— Philly Joe (@joehick58.bsky.social) 2026-02-08T21:55:15.456Z

https://www.rawstory.com/trump-2675177182/

President Donald Trump's lawyers have agreed to unseal evidence they presented to secure a search warrant used to justify a recent raid at an election office in Georgia, according to a new court order.

Federal Judge J.P. Boulee of the Northern District of Georgia, a Trump appointee, wrote in a court order published on Sunday that Trump's lawyers have agreed to unseal the affidavit used to secure the search warrant for the Fulton County election hub. Boulee ordered the administration to publish the affidavit by the end of the day on February 10.

The order also requires the court to unseal the case docket, giving the public further insight into the Trump administration's evidence.

Politico's Josh Gerstein first reported on the court order.

Last week, Trump's FBI took more than 700 boxes of material related to the 2020 general election from the office. The search warrant states that the Trump administration can turn the material over to third-party vendors for inspection, which has raised concerns that the data could be used to manipulate the results of the upcoming midterm elections.

Trump has consistently claimed that he won the 2020 general election in Georgia, even though he was unable to support that claim in more than 60 court cases challenging the election results. Trump also called Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger and demanded that he find more than 11,000 votes for Trump to win the state.

[erronis]

48. Another way to put this is "Trump was forced to unseal evidence... because of a court order."

The lawyers may have agreed to actually obey an order versus delaying/denying/deflecting...

Thanks for updating this thread!

[LetMyPeopleVote]

49. After court order, DOJ divulges search warrant affidavit for FBI's Fulton County election raid

This search warrant is totally bogus. It was issued based on allegations that had been litigated and disproved and the applicable statute of limitations had expired. This search warrant should had never been issued

After court order, DOJ divulges search warrant affidavit for FBI’s Fulton County election raid www.democracydocket.com/news-alerts/...

— Ray Beckerman (@raybeckerman.bsky.social) 2026-02-10T19:59:47.145Z

https://www.democracydocket.com/news-alerts/justice-department-fulton-county-georgia-search-warrant-affidavit/

The Department of Justice (DOJ) Tuesday complied with a court order to publicly reveal the search warrant affidavit that initiated the FBI’s raid on an election facility in Fulton County, Georgia, last month.

Through the search, federal agents seized thousands of county records — including original ballots — from the 2020 presidential election, which President Donald Trump has repeatedly falsely claimed was stolen from him.....

The document reveals that the search was largely predicated on disinformation and debunked voter fraud claims pushed by private individuals since Trump’s loss.

The bureau’s sweeping search warrant against Fulton County’s main election operations center indicated that the raid stemmed from its investigation over alleged violations of election record retention and voter intimidation laws.

However, before the affidavit’s release, it was unknown what evidence, if any, the DOJ had presented to back the warrant.,,,,,

The local officials questioned whether prosecutors sufficiently established probable cause in securing the warrant. Instead, the officials said that there was a high likelihood that prosecutors presented widely debunked voter fraud theories.....

Despite the FBI’s warrant, the legality of the search has been in question. Legal experts noted that the statute of limitations for the crimes the bureau appears to be investigating has already lapsed.

The attorney who filed the request for this warrant should be worried about sanctions. This warrant is totally frivolous.

[erronis]

50. This should be in its own OP. Thanks for the update!

[LetMyPeopleVote]

51. Georgia Ballot Inquiry Originated With Election Denier in Trump White House (NYT Gift Subsription)

A newly unsealed affidavit showed that a criminal investigation into the 2020 election in Fulton County, Ga., relied heavily on claims about ballots that have been widely debunked.

Link to tweet

https://www.nytimes.com/2026/02/10/us/politics/fulton-county-kurt-olsen-fbi-search-2020-ballots.html?unlocked_article_code=1.LFA.DuFA.VTusLchR3vAU&smid=tw-share

An F.B.I. search warrant affidavit unsealed on Tuesday shows that a criminal investigation into 2020 election results in Fulton County, Ga., was set off by a leading election denier in the Trump administration and relied heavily on claims about ballots that have been widely debunked.

The unsealing of the affidavit in Fulton County is likely to raise more questions about the Trump administration’s use of the F.B.I. and Justice Department to revive old, largely disproved claims about the 2020 election in the state, which President Trump narrowly lost.

“The FBI criminal investigation originated from a referral sent by Kurt Olsen, Presidentially appointed Director of Election Security and Integrity,” the affidavit said. Mr. Olsen played a central role in Mr. Trump’s attempt to overturn the 2020 election, including speaking to the president multiple times on Jan. 6, 2021. He has continued to push false claims about elections, and was recently appointed to a key role in the Trump administration.

Many of the claims in the affidavit refer to long-held — and consistently debunked — conspiracy theories about elections in Georgia, including arguments about fraudulent and duplicate absent ballots, election machine tabulator tapes and missing ballot images. ....

In a court filing last week, Fulton County pointed to the many debunked conspiracy theories and previous investigations as a reason that the affidavit should be unsealed.

“The continued perpetuation of these unfounded allegations sows distrust around both judicial and electoral processes in Fulton County and the state of Georgia,” the county wrote. “Transparency is necessary to ensure public knowledge and confidence. At a minimum, the public has a right to know what its government is doing.”

This search warrant was issued based on really bad information. The attorney who filed for this search warrant needs to worry about sanctions.