Fulton County has filed a motion in federal court to retrieve documents from the 2020 election. The FBI seized the documents last week from a warehouse near Atlanta.
FULTON COUNTY, Ga. โ Fulton County has filed a motion in federal court seeking the return of all documents from the 2020 election that were seized last week from a warehouse near Atlanta by the FBI, officials in the Georgia county said Wednesday.
The motion also asks for the unsealing of a law enforcement agent’s sworn statement that was presented to the judge who signed off on the search warrant, county spokesperson Jessica Corbitt-Dominguez said. The county is not releasing the motion because the case is under seal, she said.
The Jan. 28 search at Fulton Countyโs main election facility in Union City sought records related to the 2020 election.
Fulton County, which votes overwhelmingly Democratic, has been a target of Donald Trump and his allies since the Republican narrowly lost the presidential election in Georgia to Democrat Joe Biden in 2024. Trump has long insisted without evidence that widespread voter fraud in the county cost him victory in the state.
A warrant cover sheet provided to the county includes a list of items that the agents were seeking related to the 2020 general election: all ballots, tabulator tapes from the scanners that tally the votes, electronic ballot images created when the ballots were counted and then recounted, and all voter rolls.
Fulton County Board of Commissioners Chairman Robb Pitts addressed reporters at a 9:30 a.m. news conference.
“We are the poster child […] because of the 2020 elections. The president himself and his alliesโthey refuse to accept the fact that they lost. And even if he had won Georgia, he would still have lost the presidency,” Pitts said. “What they’re doing with the ballots they have now, we don’t know, but if they’re counted honestly and fairly, the results will be the same.”
The county statement added: “Parties to the motion include Fulton County Chairman Robb Pitts and the Fulton County Board of Registration & Elections. Because this case is still under seal, we are unable to share the motion at this time.” ย
In a statement, county commissioner Marvin Arrington Jr. said the filing is under seal at this time. He said it was brought under “Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure 41(g)” and “challenges the legality and scope of the federal seizure and asks the court to restore the records to their lawful Georgia custodian.
He said about 665 boxes in all were seized.
“I am happy that we have finally filed this motion,” Arrington said. “Last week I asked the county attorney to take any and all steps available to fight this criminal search warrant. Actions like this mass seizure risk sowing seeds of distrust in the election process.”
According to Arrington, the motion additionally asks for the federal government to be temporarily enjoined from “accessing, searching, relying on, reviewing, or otherwise using the materials while the motion is pending” and to have the case placed on an expedited schedule, “including a hearing on the scope of the warrant and the government’s conduct.”
This story is developing and will be updated as information becomes available.ย
11Alive, a TEGNA station, contributed to this report.
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